Johnson Financial Group LLC Makes New $251,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group LLC made a new investment in Walmart Inc., purchasing 2,859 shares valued at approximately $251,000.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Walmart during the 1st quarter, with Bear Mountain Capital Inc. notably boosting its holdings by 98.2%.
• Walmart received positive ratings from multiple brokerages, with Telsey Advisory Group and Tigress Financial both rating the stock as an "outperform" and a "buy," respectively.

Johnson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,859 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 98.2% during the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Lipe & Dalton boosted its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the 1st quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 649,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total value of $380,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,056,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. The trade was a 0.38% 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 worth $14,080,073. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of WMT stock opened at $103.77 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.14 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $828.13 billion, a PE ratio of 44.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.30 and a 200-day moving average of $95.37. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current 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.

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