Missouri Trust & Investment Co Acquires 555 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,860 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 97,928 shares of company stock valued at $8,978,123. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $93.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $753.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.62 and its 200-day moving average is $81.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

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.