Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Buys 241,914 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 100.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 481,818 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 241,914 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $38,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $84.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $681.88 billion, a PE ratio of 44.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $85.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.