Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Purchases 3,553 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 425,297 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,553 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 2.9% of Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $34,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Walmart by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,102,463,000 after buying an additional 2,246,656 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,804,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total value of $142,840,720.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 605,979,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,981,442,399.24. The trade was a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,243,091 shares of company stock valued at $257,591,179 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.9 %

Walmart stock opened at $93.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $754.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $85.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.28. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.11.

Walmart Company 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.