Hardin Capital Partners LLC Invests $469,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,928 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,420,220. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,269,360 shares of company stock worth $714,463,163 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.0 %

WMT stock opened at $79.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $640.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $79.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

About Walmart

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.