BNP Paribas Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

BNP Paribas decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 389,167 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,635 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.3% of BNP Paribas’ holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Walmart were worth $31,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $91.31 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $91.88. The stock has a market cap of $733.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.36.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

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.