Perpetual Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 106.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,297 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,541 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

WMT opened at $93.26 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.79. The company has a market capitalization of $749.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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 business posted $0.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by 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.