Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 410,077 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,683 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.7% of Sapient Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $37,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $822.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.27 and its 200-day moving average is $84.59. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $103.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.08.

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.