Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Holdings Increased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 235,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Walmart were worth $34,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,855,493 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,516,639,000 after purchasing an additional 313,686 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 112,181.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Walmart by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,382,688 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,173,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923,199 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $2,598,736,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,685,848 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,515,655,000 after purchasing an additional 33,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

WMT traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $163.77. 4,222,988 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,793,053. The stock has a market cap of $440.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.07 and a fifty-two week high of $163.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $158.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.83.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.22 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.47% and a net margin of 2.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,369,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $213,564,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 242,553,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,838,348,496. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,149,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.97, for a total value of $330,923,871.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 235,440,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,250,844,765.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,369,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $213,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 242,553,516 shares in the company, valued at $37,838,348,496. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,866,773 shares of company stock valued at $1,219,993,258 over the last quarter. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.