MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,129,398 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,247 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $91,199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 6,054 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Carlson Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 7,499 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $91.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.36. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $92.25. The company has a market cap of $739.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.