State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,640,114 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.5% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Walmart were worth $132,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $84.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,396,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,546,657. The company has a market capitalization of $681.88 billion, a PE ratio of 44.11, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $85.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $80.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.01.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $232,440.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.