Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Acquires 1,220 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,762 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 183.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total value of $1,674,847.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 415,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,222,851.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares in the company, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.48, for a total transaction of $1,674,847.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 415,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,222,851.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,332,089 shares of company stock valued at $422,145,654 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $76.41. 11,850,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,382,369. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.19 and its 200-day moving average is $64.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $76.47. The firm has a market cap of $614.61 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.64.

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.