Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,284,842 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,085 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.6% of Arizona State Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $86,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,674,652,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Walmart by 16.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,102,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246,656 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Walmart from $63.33 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 40,974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total transaction of $2,736,653.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 635,512,658 shares in the company, valued at $42,445,890,427.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $82,910,840.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 40,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.79, for a total transaction of $2,736,653.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 635,512,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,445,890,427.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock worth $730,497,016. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $76.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $71.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $618.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $77.81.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.