Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,572,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 812,284 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.08% of Walmart worth $445,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $79.06 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock 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.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The stock was 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. Insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock valued at $959,826,083 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.