MQS Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,091 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 201.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Dupont Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Walmart by 165.4% in the 1st quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 270,147 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,255,000 after purchasing an additional 168,346 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 307.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 160,292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,645,000 after purchasing an additional 120,919 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 194.4% during the 1st quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 22,798 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 15,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WMG Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 212.8% in the 1st quarter. WMG Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,495 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 15,303 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.84.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $85.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $687.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $85.79. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.44.

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 net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.