Umpqua Bank Acquires 1,189 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Umpqua Bank grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,981 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the quarter. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st 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 grew its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, hitting $84.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,129,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,720,369. The company has a market capitalization of $678.35 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $85.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.58. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $169.30 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.89.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart 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.