Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 354,716 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 354,716 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,828,000. Walmart comprises approximately 1.7% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shotwell Rutter Baer Inc purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $384,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 313,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,242,000 after acquiring an additional 36,376 shares in the last quarter. Lwmg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.8% in the second quarter. Lwmg LLC now owns 7,476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 57.3% during the second quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,529 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.0% during the second quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 10,895 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,673,023 shares of company stock worth $753,365,984 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $93.50 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $93.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $751.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.44.

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

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.