Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 59,649 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,272 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.8% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,353,881,000 after purchasing an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Walmart by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after buying an additional 834,005 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $90.44 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $90.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.84. The stock has a market cap of $726.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

About Walmart

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.