L & S Advisors Inc Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

L & S Advisors Inc increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,728 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25,628 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.0% of L & S Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in Walmart by 6.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 42,621 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,540 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,294,000 after buying an additional 4,128 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC increased its position in Walmart by 51.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 15,623 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 5,298 shares during the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 118,663 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,582,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.49.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $87.33 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $88.29. The stock has a market cap of $701.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.75 and a 200 day moving average of $73.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

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.