Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,141 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 187.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Walmart by 284.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144,393 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.51.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $82.51 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $83.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.40. The stock has a market cap of $663.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,787,946.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,784,857. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.