Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $59.39 Million Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 670.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 735,430 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 639,921 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $59,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 16.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,102,463,000 after buying an additional 2,246,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $92.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $92.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.35 and a 200-day moving average of $75.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $743.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,385,186 shares of company stock valued at $963,206,365. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

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.