Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,783,578 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,142,165 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.7% of National Pension Service’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. National Pension Service’s holdings in Walmart were worth $709,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 201.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the period. RBA Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 202.5% during the 1st quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 91,798 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,523,000 after purchasing an additional 61,454 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 205.4% in the 1st quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,036 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 7,422 shares during the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 88,929 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,351,000 after purchasing an additional 59,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 204.2% during the first quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 22,933 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 15,394 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,334,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,577,287. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $82.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.25. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $83.34. The company has a market capitalization of $660.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.89.

Walmart 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.