Ewa LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ewa LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,544 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 93,272.8% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,045,359,000 after purchasing an additional 820,124,410 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,104,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,691,763,000 after purchasing an additional 249,501 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Walmart by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,382,688 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,173,642,000 after buying an additional 1,923,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,598,736,000. 33.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were 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 owns 169,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,390,136.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $161,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 169,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,390,136.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $708,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 269,119 shares in the company, valued at $43,597,278. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,701 in the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $155.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,037,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,969,133. The business has a fifty day moving average of $162.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.87. The firm has a market cap of $419.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $136.09 and a fifty-two week high of $169.94.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 2.55%. The business had revenue of $160.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $173.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.00.

About Walmart

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.