Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 9,373 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its Walmart shares by 10%, ending the quarter with 84,417 shares valued at approximately $7.41 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes in Walmart, including Monument Capital Management, which grew its holdings by 94.2% in Q1.
• Analysts are optimistic about Walmart's stock, with Oppenheimer and Tigress Financial raising their price targets, reflecting a consensus rating of "Buy"** for the company's stock.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,417 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,373 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Full Sail Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 8,702 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 3,154 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 94.2% during the first quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 55,004 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 26,685 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 156.7% during the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 54,659 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 33,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,404,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6%

WMT stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.77. 12,392,140 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,978,248. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $828.13 billion, a PE ratio of 44.35, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.39.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, valued at $429,896,799.42. The trade was a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073. 0.10% of the stock is currently 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.