Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,618 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,057 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock valued at $8,978,123 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $93.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $749.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.44 and a 1 year high of $96.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.