State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 200.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,172,820 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 782,280 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $70,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Walmart by 14.6% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 890,858 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $142,475,000 after purchasing an additional 113,445 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Walmart by 6.0% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 590,441 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $94,432,000 after purchasing an additional 33,676 shares during the last quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 17,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,767,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,324 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $68.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $548.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $69.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.47.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.