CCM Investment Advisers LLC Buys 1,365 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 203,808 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. CCM Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Walmart by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,102,463,000 after buying an additional 2,246,656 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Walmart by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after buying an additional 834,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

WMT stock opened at $79.61 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $639.93 billion, a PE ratio of 41.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.32 and a 200 day moving average of $68.68.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,862,930.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,862,930.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,937. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Walmart

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.