Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 100,000 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 561,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $45,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 23.8% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 12,657 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the last quarter. Cadence Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 181,868 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,686,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Carlson Capital Management increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 7,499 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Shum Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $1,719,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 29,372 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $91.87 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $92.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $738.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.