Carnegie Investment Counsel Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,159 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Walmart by 16.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246,656 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Walmart by 5.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after buying an additional 834,005 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $80.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.55 and a 200 day moving average of $68.88. The firm has a market cap of $643.86 billion, a PE ratio of 41.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.32.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,862,930.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total value of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,937. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.