Maiden Cove Capital LLC Acquires Walmart Stake Worth $929,000

Maiden Cove Capital LLC has recently disclosed a new investment in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the third quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,503 shares of Walmart's stock, which is valued at approximately $929,000. This investment accounts for roughly 1.9% of Maiden Cove Capital LLC's overall investment portfolio, making Walmart the 14th largest holding in their collection.

Additionally, other significant investors have recently adjusted their positions in Walmart. For instance, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in the retailer by 199.4% during the first quarter. They now own 411,745,334 shares, valued at nearly $24.77 billion, following the acquisition of an additional 274,229,968 shares in the previous quarter. Similarly, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings by 181.0% to own 56,861,234 shares worth around $3.42 billion after purchasing an extra 36,625,314 shares. Swiss National Bank also saw a significant growth in its position, with a 187.4% increase, now holding 13,303,200 shares valued at $800.45 million after buying 8,674,100 additional shares. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake by 284.0%, now owning 11,122,273 shares valued at $669.23 million after adding 8,225,552 shares during this period.

International Assets Investment Management LLC made a striking increase of 8,814.4% in its Walmart holdings in the third quarter, now owning 6,963,218 shares valued at $562.28 million after buying 6,885,106 shares. In total, institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of Walmart's stock.

Recent Analyst Ratings

A number of analysts have weighed in on Walmart shares recently. Jefferies Financial Group raised its price target from $85.00 to $90.00 and issued a "buy" rating on September 4th. On October 22nd, Sanford C. Bernstein began covering Walmart, giving it an "outperform" rating and setting a price target of $95.00. Robert W. Baird also increased its target from $82.00 to $90.00, maintaining an "outperform" rating. Citigroup raised its price target significantly from $75.00 to $98.00 and assigned a "buy" rating. KeyCorp likewise increased its price target from $87.00 to $88.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating. Currently, one investment analyst has rated the stock as a hold, while 29 analysts have given it a buy rating, and two have labeled it a strong buy. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of "Buy" with a consensus target price set at $83.92.

Walmart Stock Movement

On the New York Stock Exchange, Walmart shares (NYSE:WMT) saw an uptick of 1.2% during mid-day trading, reaching $84.83. The trading volume for the day was 14,396,543 shares, compared to an average volume of 11,546,657. Walmart holds a market cap of $681.88 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 44.11, a PEG ratio of 4.25, and a beta of 0.51. The stock's current ratios are at 0.46 for debt-to-equity, 0.80 for current, and 0.22 for quick ratio. Over the past 52 weeks, Walmart has experienced a low of $49.85 and a high of $85.54.

Latest Earnings Report

Walmart last reported its quarterly earnings on August 15th, revealing earnings per share of $0.67, which surpassed analyst expectations of $0.65 by $0.02. The company generated revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, exceeding consensus estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart's net margin was reported at 2.34%, with a return on equity of 21.72%. The revenue for the quarter marked a year-over-year increase of 4.7%, as compared to the same period last year when the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post an earnings per share of 2.44 for the current year.

Insider Trading Activity

Recent insider transactions have attracted attention as well. Major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart on September 9th, at an average price of $77.20, totaling approximately $313.23 million. After this sale, Walton still possesses 611,988,318 shares valued at about $47.25 billion. Another significant sale occurred on September 3rd, where major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares at an average price of $77.37, amounting to roughly $209.61 million. Following this transaction, Alice Walton holds 630,501,148 shares worth approximately $48.78 billion. In the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares valued at $958.82 million, with corporate insiders owning 45.58% of Walmart's shares at present.

Walmart Company Overview

Walmart Inc. operates through three main segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. The company manages a variety of retail formats including supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, cash-and-carry stores, and discount shops under the Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, in addition to membership-only warehouse clubs and eCommerce platforms like walmart.com.

Walmart, Investment, Stock