Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Lifted by Constitution Capital LLC

Constitution Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,854 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,982 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 3.3% of Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Constitution Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 112,181.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,240,599,000 after buying an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,598,736,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,164,937.0% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,718,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000,000 after buying an additional 4,717,995 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 7,546.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,166,995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $467,747,000 after buying an additional 3,125,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 179.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,578,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $254,078,000 after buying an additional 2,938,948 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.74. 1,295,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,935,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.07 and a 52-week high of $165.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.70. The company has a market capitalization of $438.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 21.47%. The firm had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total value of $1,505,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,490,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,105,879.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.04, for a total value of $1,505,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,490,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,105,879.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $161,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,390,136.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,493,773 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,802,298. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Walmart from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.51.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.