Prana Capital Management LP Sells 58,814 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Prana Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 23.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 195,652 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 58,814 shares during the quarter. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 23,273,933 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,879,370,000 after buying an additional 228,121 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $93.50 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $93.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.44. The firm has a market cap of $751.58 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,673,023 shares of company stock valued at $753,365,984 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.