Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Compass Financial Group INC SD

Compass Financial Group INC SD increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 63.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,677 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the quarter. Compass Financial Group INC SD’s holdings in Walmart were worth $735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,104,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,691,763,000 after acquiring an additional 249,501 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 112,181.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after buying an additional 22,834,564 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Walmart by 9.4% during 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,598,736,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,685,848 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,515,655,000 after buying an additional 33,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $159.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.51.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $164.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $442.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.83. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.07 and a twelve month high of $165.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $161,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 169,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,390,136.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $161,370.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 169,735 shares in the company, valued at $27,390,136.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 4,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.24, for a total transaction of $696,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 277,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,247,700.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,493,773 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,802,298 over the last 90 days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.