Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.6% of Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.59% of Walmart worth $3,848,533,000 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 WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.88.

Walmart Stock Down 1.1 %

WMT traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $89.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,050,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,919,107. The stock's 50-day moving average is $82.29 and its 200-day moving average is $74.14. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $90.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $719.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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.