AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 625,709 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $56,533,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.09. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.99 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.17.

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.