Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Boosted by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 37.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 856,625 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 235,289 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.1% of Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $77,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $92.02 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.15 and a 200-day moving average of $81.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.