Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Has $147.43 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,177,305 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 636,475 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.3% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Walmart were worth $147,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC increased their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,360,248 shares of company stock valued at $959,228,295 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $80.70 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $648.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.16. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $81.02.

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

Walmart 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.