Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,125 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,599 shares during the quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Payden & Rygel raised its position in Walmart by 20.5% in the second quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 9,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 7,950 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Oxford Financial Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 82.1% during the second quarter. Oxford Financial Group Ltd. now owns 6,605 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total transaction of $1,576,579.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,349,061.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $161,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 169,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,390,136.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total value of $1,576,579.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $237,349,061.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,701. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Walmart from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 14th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. HSBC started coverage on Walmart in a report on Friday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.00.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $155.50 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $162.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.09 and a 1-year high of $169.94.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Walmart had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company 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.