Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $17.40 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 216,857 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $17,403,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after purchasing an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of WMT opened at $92.50 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.35 and its 200 day moving average is $75.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $92.64. The company has a market capitalization of $743.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,385,186 shares of company stock worth $963,206,365 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently 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.