Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,900,850 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,106 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $153,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $91.87 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.48. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $92.25. The company has a market cap of $738.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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.