Mattson Financial Services LLC Makes New $2.92 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 43,181 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,924,000. Walmart comprises about 1.0% of Mattson Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $756,188,000 after acquiring an additional 8,144,393 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $80.44 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $75.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.94. The company has a market cap of $647.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,025,027. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.62.

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.