Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300,548 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 41,272 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $20,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walmart by 183.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $80.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $647.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $72.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.09. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $80.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Barclays raised their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total value of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,537,610,048.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.