Xponance Inc. Sells 1,509 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Xponance Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 590,872 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,509 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $40,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 183.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,755,339,000 after buying an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $79.06 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $81.02. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart 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.