MML Investors Services LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,027,102 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,099 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $82,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 143,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,551,000 after purchasing an additional 9,095 shares during the last quarter. Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $230,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 5,136 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 56,997 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,603,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at $48,537,610,048.28. This trade represents a 0.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,300,460 shares of company stock worth $570,820,065 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $95.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.00. The firm has a market cap of $769.26 billion, a PE ratio of 39.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 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 analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

Walmart 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.