Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Boosted by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,345,990 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.6% of Swedbank AB’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Walmart were worth $483,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WMT opened at $97.97 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.04 and a 52 week high of $99.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.90. 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 data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.11.

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.