Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Lessened by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,167 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $78.05 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 $627.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $73.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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 business had revenue of $169.30 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. 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 Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.