CRA Financial Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CRA Financial Services LLC cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,080 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 619 shares during the period. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $511,000. Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $1,230,000. Sunpointe LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $665,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.32.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $0.49 on Friday, hitting $80.10. 9,570,734 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,313,674. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.55 and a 200-day moving average of $68.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $81.60. The stock has a market cap of $643.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.60, for a total value of $926,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 632,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,648,499. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937 in the last three months. Company 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.