Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 873,049 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,271 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.9% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $78,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Walmart by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,976 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 930 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its stake in Walmart by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 6,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $366,000. Finally, Flywheel Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $91.33 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.44 and a 12 month high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.03.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.