Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 187.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.6% of Swiss National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $800,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 183.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Walmart by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Walmart by 212.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 14,035,473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $844,514,000 after purchasing an additional 9,544,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $81.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.83.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, hitting $69.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 775,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,536,623. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.95 and a 200-day moving average of $60.63. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $558.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,525,340 shares of company stock worth $953,023,399. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.