Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Has $5.65 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 69,973 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CAP Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $90.44 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.12 and a 200-day moving average of $73.84. The firm has a market cap of $726.98 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $90.91.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the 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 directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

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.