LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 4,150 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 42.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,930 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,150 shares during the quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Lipe & Dalton boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $103.10 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $822.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $97.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up previously from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

About Walmart

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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