Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 14,216 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,696 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,216 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning increased its position in Walmart by 4.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $142,973,000 after buying an additional 83,376 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its position in Walmart by 10.2% during the third quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 15,028 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.3% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 52,599 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,247,000 after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE WMT opened at $104.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.99 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.