GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 363 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,607 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 363 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AHL Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 192.1% in the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its stake in Walmart by 189.4% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,213,000 after buying an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.61. 22,863,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,426,158. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.55 and a 200 day moving average of $63.08. 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 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $71.33. The company has a market cap of $551.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Walmart from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Walmart from $64.33 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total value of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,589,163.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,540,863 shares of company stock worth $954,455,147. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.