Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 834,005 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.20% of Walmart worth $1,095,946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $80.60 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $80.68. The stock has a market cap of $647.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.51 and a 200 day moving average of $66.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $74,215,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at $48,537,610,048.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

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.