Valmark Advisers Inc. Has $4.59 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,787 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,822 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the first 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 raised its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 187.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $81.72 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $83.34. The stock has a market cap of $656.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.56, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’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 transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,784,857 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.83.

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.