Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Boston Research & Management Inc.

Boston Research & Management Inc. decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,368 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,235 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 2.4% of Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Boston Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 181.0% in 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 buying an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Walmart by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,102,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,246,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Walmart by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after purchasing an additional 834,005 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.99.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $79.06 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $81.02. The company has a market cap of $635.92 billion, a P/E 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.