Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Iowa State Bank

Iowa State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 213.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

WMT stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $91.95. 8,071,708 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,028,102. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.41 and its 200-day moving average is $79.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.23 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $738.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

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.