L & S Advisors Inc Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

L & S Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,728 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25,628 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.0% of L & S Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 253.0% in the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $87.33 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.75 and its 200 day moving average is $73.43. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $88.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $701.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.49.

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.