Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. Trims Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,787 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,709 shares during the period. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,561,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,889 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 10,076 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. HSBC boosted their price target on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $68.70. 17,362,991 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,333,799. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $71.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.88. The company has a market cap of $552.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,092,120,157.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $73,610,637.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 647,371,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,860,933,910.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock worth $954,455,147. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.