Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 0.8%, owning over 425 million shares, making Walmart its 20th largest holding.
• Several hedge funds also adjusted their positions in Walmart, with Bear Mountain Capital increasing its stake by 98.2% during the first quarter.
• Analysts remain positive on Walmart stock, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $106.67 despite a range of recent price target adjustments.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 425,961,042 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,224,154 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 5.32% of Walmart worth $37,395,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 33,292,749 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,922,770,000 after purchasing an additional 7,706,201 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1,707.6% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after buying an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in Walmart by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer's stock worth $882,282,000 after buying an additional 3,182,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.44, for a total transaction of $216,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 628,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,851,623.92. The trade was a 0.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $3.96 on Wednesday, reaching $103.27. 23,730,095 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,905,739. The firm has a market cap of $824.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.16. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $66.67 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart's revenue 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 equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $106.67.

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.