Berger Financial Group Inc Sells 20,043 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Berger Financial Group Inc has reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. by 18.3%, now holding 89,517 shares valued at approximately $7.86 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their holdings in Walmart, demonstrating continued institutional confidence in the company.
• Analysts' target prices for Walmart have varied, with some increasing their targets to as high as $115, while an average rating of "Buy" suggests optimism about the stock's performance.

Berger Financial Group Inc cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 18.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,517 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 20,043 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in Walmart were worth $7,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $103.77. 12,392,140 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,088,264. The firm's 50 day moving average is $97.30 and its 200-day moving average is $95.38. The firm has a market cap of $828.13 billion, a PE ratio of 44.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $67.14 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price (up from $102.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $106.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 649,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. The trade was a 0.27% decrease in their position. 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 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by 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.