Aldebaran Financial Inc. Buys 1,981 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,059 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.9% of Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Walmart by 0.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,692,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $114,595,000 after purchasing an additional 9,594 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,509 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 63,895 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 27,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 11.2% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 164,143 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,114,000 after acquiring an additional 16,545 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock worth $958,025,027. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.62.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

Walmart stock opened at $80.75 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $649.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.71. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.60.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.