Artemis Investment Management LLP Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 856,625 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 235,289 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.1% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Walmart were worth $77,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of WMT traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,705,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,296,278. The company has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.44 and a 12 month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.