Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.4% of Jennison Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,289,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,820,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $470,014,000 after buying an additional 2,018,271 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $100.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $810.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.37.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,207,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 579,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,352,180. This trade represents a 2.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328 in the last three months. 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.