J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 15,719 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in Walmart by 3.4%, acquiring an additional 15,719 shares for a total of 481,955 shares valued at approximately $42.3 million.
• In the past quarter, corporate insiders sold a total of 143,912 shares of Walmart stock, valued at over $13.8 million.
• Walmart reported earnings of $0.61 per share for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.58, with revenue of $165.61 billion.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 481,955 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 15,719 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Walmart were worth $42,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Whelan Financial grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 4,339 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 25,915 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Scott & Selber Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the first quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 2,920 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 1.4% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $103,252,135. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 143,912 shares of company stock worth $13,863,813. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $98.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $66.67 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $96.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.03. The company has a market cap of $785.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Walmart Company 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.

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