Sei Investments Co. Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 19.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,541,659 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 249,232 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $104,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 183.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $79.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.83. The company has a market cap of $635.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’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 directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

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.