Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 146,589 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,387 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Empirical Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 849,801 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $68,621,000 after purchasing an additional 2,926 shares during the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 5,205 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. King Wealth Management Group raised its stake in Walmart by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 120,390 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,722,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Walmart by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 749,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $60,539,000 after acquiring an additional 60,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in Walmart by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 8,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $84.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $678.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.51. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $80.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.53. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $85.79.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.84.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.