Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $5.44 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 40.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,382 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,029 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $79.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $640.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.95. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $79.90. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,269,360 shares of company stock valued at $714,463,163 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.