Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 30.1% in Q1, now holding approximately 33.3 million shares valued at $2.92 billion.
• Multiple institutional investors such as Northern Trust Corp and UBS Asset Management have also significantly increased their holdings in Walmart, indicating strong institutional interest in the retailer.
• Analysts have mixed views on Walmart's stock, with target prices ranging from $105 to $115 and a consensus rating of "Buy."

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of Walmart worth $2,922,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the first quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Lipe & Dalton grew its stake in Walmart by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $216,260.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 626,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,547,399.40. This represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,412,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $421,737,000.84. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $3.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $103.27. 23,730,095 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,905,739. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $824.14 billion, a PE ratio of 44.13, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.16.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.