Diversified Investment Strategies LLC Has $4.14 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Diversified Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 198.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,735 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 45,715 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 2.8% of Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Diversified Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,232,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.97.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.34. 8,847,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,077,783. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.05. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $69.04. The company has a market capitalization of $549.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,031,755.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,480,846 shares of company stock worth $949,751,461 over the last quarter. 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.