Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Purchases 8,144,393 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 184.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,144,393 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.5% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.16% of Walmart worth $756,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,674,652,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $568,419,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 15,371.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after buying an additional 3,488,530 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Walmart by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after buying an additional 2,150,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 218.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,554,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $153,677,000 after buying an additional 1,751,066 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,239,559.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock valued at $953,023,399. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $68.24 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $69.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $548.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

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.