Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 127,824 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 746 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Ascent Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WMT opened at $92.50 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $92.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $743.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $1,207,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 579,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,352,180. This trade represents a 2.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,385,186 shares of company stock valued at $963,206,365. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.