Retirement Systems of Alabama Purchases 161,120 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,935,792 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 161,120 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Walmart were worth $156,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 21.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,309,091 shares of company stock worth $183,375,539. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.33.

Walmart Stock Down 0.3 %

Walmart stock opened at $93.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $85.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.51 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company has a market capitalization of $753.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 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.