Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Patron Partners LLC

Patron Partners LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,397 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Patron Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $102.47 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $102.58. The stock has a market cap of $823.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $93.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

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.