Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Raised by Costello Asset Management INC

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. by 15.8%, now holding 21,874 shares valued at approximately $1.92 million, making it the firm's 29th largest holding.
• Walmart reported $0.61 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and achieved a quarterly revenue of $165.61 billion, showing a 2.5% year-over-year increase.
• Insiders, including executives, have sold 146,112 shares of Walmart stock in the past 90 days, with corporate insiders currently owning 45.58% of the company's stock.

Costello Asset Management INC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,874 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.8% of Costello Asset Management INC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $697,029,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860,306 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,512,368 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,182,477 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 25,917,346 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,341,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,413 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $99.49 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $96.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.13. The stock has a market cap of $793.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-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.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,451,199 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.