Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 338,336 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after acquiring an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at $42,544,840,574.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,332,089 shares of company stock worth $422,145,654. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.23. 23,229,975 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,417,189. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $77.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $621.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.36 and its 200-day moving average is $64.53.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James raised their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.64.

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.