Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Cut by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,220 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 811 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sageworth Trust Co grew its stake in Walmart by 2,414.3% in the first quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 176 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Walmart by 58.3% in the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 387.8% during the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.48, for a total transaction of $159,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 170,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,228,817.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.48, for a total transaction of $159,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 170,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,228,817.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.58, for a total value of $1,549,202.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,480,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,325,851.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,757,113 shares of company stock worth $1,353,607,317 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $161.20 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.05. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $128.07 and a one year high of $162.78. The company has a market capitalization of $434.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.47% and a net margin of 2.23%. The company had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, June 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $186.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.35.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.