Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by MWA Asset Management

MWA Asset Management grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,396 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.1% of MWA Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.01.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $101.17 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $103.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $812.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.