Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 350,881 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,522,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. CAP Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $87.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $701.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.43. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $88.29.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.49.

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.