Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by New Republic Capital LLC

New Republic Capital LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,128 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 641 shares during the quarter. New Republic Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value 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. The trade was 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. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $103.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $832.42 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $103.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.56.

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.