Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 809,352 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Walmart worth $503,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Liberty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter worth about $270,000. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 189.4% in the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 290.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth $723,000. Finally, Meridian Management Co. raised its holdings in Walmart by 200.2% in the first quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 140,880 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,477,000 after purchasing an additional 93,955 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.89. The stock had a trading volume of 8,213,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,768,230. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $85.54. The company has a market capitalization of $674.33 billion, a PE ratio of 43.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average is $80.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

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 stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was 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 $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. Company 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.