2,591 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by Marotta Asset Management

Marotta Asset Management purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,591 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 53,500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,434,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,294 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in Walmart by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 5,862 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $80.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $646.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 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. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.03.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,239,034.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,937. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.