Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Reduced by Symmetry Investments LP

Symmetry Investments LP lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,850 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 240,400 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.0% of Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Symmetry Investments LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. AHL Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 192.1% in the first quarter. AHL Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 15,785 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after buying an additional 600,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 290.7% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

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.