WestEnd Advisors LLC Purchases 3,183 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

WestEnd Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 228,454 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,183 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.1% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $36,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 93,272.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $129,045,359,000 after acquiring an additional 820,124,410 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 112,181.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after acquiring an additional 22,834,564 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $2,598,736,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 1,164,937.0% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,718,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,272,260 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,514,865,000 after buying an additional 2,531,707 shares during the period. 33.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $158.00. 1,190,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,291,799. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $425.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $136.09 and a twelve month high of $169.94.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53. Walmart had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, November 17th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $169.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 13th. Stephens lifted their price target on Walmart from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walmart from $187.00 to $177.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.44.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WMT

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total transaction of $154,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,687,194.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 885,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.13, for a total value of $138,201,592.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233,094,355 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,393,021,646.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.06, for a total value of $154,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 166,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,687,194.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,479,006 shares of company stock worth $542,170,741 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

About Walmart

(Free Report)

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.

Further Reading

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