Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Increased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 717,824 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 263,718 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.7% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $48,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,674,652,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Walmart by 16.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,102,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.85, for a total transaction of $877,406.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 658,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,031,755.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,244,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $82,910,840.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 633,518,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,211,325,061.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,144,237 shares of company stock valued at $730,497,016. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $76.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,548,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,411,770. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.38. The company has a market cap of $616.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $77.81. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

About Walmart

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.