Pensionfund Sabic Acquires 15,000 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.2% of Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.69.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT traded up $0.91 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.69. 2,275,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,967,968. The firm has a market cap of $736.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. 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 one year low of $52.23 and a one year high of $96.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.41 and its 200 day moving average is $79.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 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.