State of Tennessee Treasury Department Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

State of Tennessee Treasury Department reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 650,641 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100,501 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department’s holdings in Walmart were worth $102,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Seven Mile Advisory raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $1,944,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 144,807 shares in the company, valued at $9,386,389.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,906,725 shares of company stock valued at $642,307,702 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe lifted their target price on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.32.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.88. The stock had a trading volume of 20,213,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,885,814. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.67. The stock has a market cap of $530.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.52. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $67.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.57 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 21.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Company 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.