Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 615,756 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 79,261 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 45.0% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after purchasing an additional 105,430 shares during the period. Whalerock Point Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.5% in the 1st quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 20,167 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 201.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.84.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $85.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,076,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,654,225. 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 twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $85.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.53. The firm has a market cap of $687.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.46, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.