Meridian Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,074 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,845 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $14,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,868,000 after purchasing an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Walmart by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,972,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $103.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $828.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.14 and a twelve month high of $105.30. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $97.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.39.

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 945,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

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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