Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 25,780 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,453,738 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25,780 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Walmart were worth $117,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.87 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $92.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.81 and its 200 day moving average is $74.48. The stock has a market cap of $738.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.65, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Walmart 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.