Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,870 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $84.80 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $85.79. The firm has a market cap of $681.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.80, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.98.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.18.

About Walmart

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.