Diversified Investment Strategies LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Diversified Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 198.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,735 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,715 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 2.8% of Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schoolcraft Capital LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 181.2% in the 1st quarter. Schoolcraft Capital LLC now owns 4,704 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 213.7% in the first quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 10,722 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 200.1% during the 1st quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,761 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 189.6% during the 1st quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 34,525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 22,605 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in Walmart by 187.9% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 15,765 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 10,289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.34. 8,847,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,077,783. The stock has a market cap of $549.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.56 and its 200-day moving average is $59.05. 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 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,687,515.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $1,760,545.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,047,767 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,687,515.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,132,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total transaction of $73,610,637.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 647,371,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,092,120,157.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,480,846 shares of company stock worth $949,751,461. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

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.