Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 2,786,061 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.6% of Geode Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,048,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 23,273,933 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,879,370,000 after buying an additional 228,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.11.

Walmart Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $93.87 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.28. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $754.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,804,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total value of $142,840,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 605,979,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,981,442,399.24. The trade was a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,243,091 shares of company stock worth $257,591,179 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.