Peak Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Peak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 199.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,490 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,656 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 370.7% during the 1st quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,583 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 9,910 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 164.8% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,666 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 2,904 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 140.6% during the first quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Alliance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 34,830 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 22,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total value of $1,748,313.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,527,738 shares of company stock valued at $953,190,060. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.44.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.64. 7,545,724 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,261,695. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $71.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.51. The company has a market cap of $568.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

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.