Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 5,540 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,830 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,540 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TPG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $442,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 27.3% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 35,845 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,427,000 after buying an additional 7,698 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 5.5% during the second quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 25,795 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,747,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Walmart by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,541,659 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $104,388,000 after acquiring an additional 249,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $79.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.44 and a 200-day moving average of $66.78. The company has a market cap of $635.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six 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 price target of $78.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total value of $28,139,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,262,194,181.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.