Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,733,519 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,730 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $139,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. CAP Partners LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $90.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $90.91. The company has a market cap of $726.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.75.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

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.