Alberta Investment Management Corp Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 31.5%, acquiring an additional 7,500 shares, bringing its total to 31,300 shares worth approximately $2.75 million.
• Walmart's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.61, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue reaching $165.61 billion for the quarter, a 2.5% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• Insider trading activity saw notable sales, including 28,000 shares sold by EVP Kathryn J. Mclay and 29,148 shares sold by CEO C Douglas Mcmillon, both indicating slight decreases in their respective ownership stakes.

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 31.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,300 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 9,896.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,939,728 shares of the retailer's stock worth $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 7,860,306 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its stake in Walmart by 1,707.6% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 3,718,058 shares of the retailer's stock worth $324,410,000 after buying an additional 3,512,368 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Walmart by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,765,159 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $882,282,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,477 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 25,917,346 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,341,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.00 on Monday, hitting $99.49. 19,042,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,544,672. The stock has a market capitalization of $793.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $96.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.08. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.67 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $1,248,712.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 932,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,700,258.82. The trade was a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,744 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $166,726.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 649,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,066,674.80. This represents a 0.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 143,912 shares of company stock valued at $13,863,813. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.