Continental Investors Services Inc. Takes $2.86 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 18th, 2023

Walmart logo Continental Investors Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 21,760 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,860,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,519.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,129,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,054,376,000 after buying an additional 7,627,286 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.9% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 96,570,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,525,224,000 after buying an additional 2,712,886 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,176,496 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,883,890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,388 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Walmart by 7.6% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,919,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,908,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Walmart by 34.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,258,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $783,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340,328 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.27% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total transaction of $122,940,535.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 266,841,420 shares in the company, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 563,717 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.26, for a total value of $80,194,380.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 264,873,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,680,924,595.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total transaction of $122,940,535.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 266,841,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,494,543,249.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,830,325 shares of company stock worth $1,378,798,478 over the last 90 days. 47.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $139.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $375.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.04. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $117.27 and a one year high of $160.77.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $164.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.67 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 20.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $161.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. UBS Group set a $168.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $163.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.44.

Walmart Profile

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Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.