Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 354,716 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 354,716 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,828,000. Walmart makes up about 1.7% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $751.58 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.54. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $93.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,673,023 shares of company stock worth $753,365,984. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.11.

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.