GAM Holding AG Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

GAM Holding AG bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,574 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $104.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.56. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.99 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.53.

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.