NorthRock Partners LLC Has $5.76 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. by 4.7% in the first quarter, now owning a total of 65,539 shares valued at approximately $5.76 million.
• Walmart's stock received mixed reviews from analysts, with a consensus target price of $106.67 and the majority rating it a "Moderate Buy".
• Insider sales occurred recently, with EVP Kathryn J. Mclay and EVP John R. Furner selling shares totaling over $1.6 million, indicating changes in insider ownership.

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,539 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,957 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 9.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 3,132 shares of the retailer's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.59. The company had a trading volume of 13,844,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,240,789. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.67 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.81 billion, a PE ratio of 41.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's fifty day moving average is $96.78 and its 200 day moving average is $94.93. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 19,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.58, for a total transaction of $1,855,781.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,078,027 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.