Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 834,005 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,095,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at $32,239,034.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

WMT stock opened at $80.60 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $80.68. The stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.51 and a 200-day moving average of $66.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

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.