Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 2,107,197 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.6% of Fisher Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,848,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their price target on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $90.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $726.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $90.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.94.

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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.