Makena Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Makena Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 64,475 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,134,000. Walmart accounts for 1.9% of Makena Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elgethun Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Elgethun Capital Management now owns 6,316 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.9% during the second quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 599,213 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $94,184,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 24,014.2% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 565,478 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $88,880,000 after buying an additional 563,133 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,356,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 239.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,434,871 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $110,380,000 after buying an additional 1,717,019 shares during the last quarter. 33.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

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

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded down $0.41 on Tuesday, reaching $154.89. 2,799,975 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,986,075. The stock has a market cap of $416.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.09 and a 12 month high of $169.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.90. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.53. The company had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.65 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $159.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $187.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.00.

Walmart Company 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.