Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 111,987 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 17,799 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 383,412 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,961,000 after purchasing an additional 11,816 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 19.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,541,659 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $104,388,000 after purchasing an additional 249,232 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 27.3% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 35,845 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 7,698 shares during the period. Lavaca Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the second quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 20,745 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 22,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased 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, November 18th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $92.02 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.37. The stock has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.