Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,966 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,450 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.4% of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $78.62 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.02. The stock has a market cap of $631.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.48. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

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.