Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,968,934 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 33,142 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 0.7% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Walmart were worth $177,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.01.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $102.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $826.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.82. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $103.02. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,207,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 579,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,352,180. This represents a 2.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Company 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.