Marshall Wace LLP Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 102.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,483,590 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,259,313 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $168,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $80.33 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $646.14 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.65 and its 200-day moving average is $67.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WMT. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.76.

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.