MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,091 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simmons Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.5% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 256,537 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,715,000 after purchasing an additional 11,076 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in Walmart by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 80,476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,498,000 after buying an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,966,753 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $239,565,000 after buying an additional 52,897 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.0% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 462,181 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,321,000 after acquiring an additional 53,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 5.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $84.84.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $85.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.82 and a 200 day moving average of $72.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $687.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $85.79.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.