Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes $11.68 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 144,449 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $11,678,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. CAP Partners LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $88.76 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $88.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $713.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was 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 owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

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.