Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,439,970 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 91,491 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $97,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

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

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 603,989,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,262,194,181.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.