Sarasin & Partners LLP Invests $4.74 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 70,000 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,740,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 20,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,370,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Landmark Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,386,389.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000,613 shares of company stock worth $725,932,010. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.45. The stock had a trading volume of 19,872,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,647,650. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $74.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $590.80 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.79.

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.