Maiden Cove Capital LLC Takes $929,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Maiden Cove Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 11,503 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $929,000. Walmart comprises approximately 1.9% of Maiden Cove Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Walmart by 187.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.83. The stock had a trading volume of 14,396,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,546,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $681.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.11, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $80.53 and its 200 day moving average is $71.92. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $85.54.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 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.