Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 687 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,353,881,000 after buying an additional 484,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Walmart by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after buying an additional 834,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,295,088 shares of company stock valued at $955,284,831. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $83.05 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $83.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $667.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.08.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.51.

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.