Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 497,283 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,244 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.6% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $40,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Walmart by 165.4% in the first quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 270,147 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,255,000 after acquiring an additional 168,346 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 307.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 160,292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,645,000 after purchasing an additional 120,919 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Walmart by 192.5% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,503,173 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $391,296,000 after purchasing an additional 4,279,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 244.0% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 476,280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,658,000 after purchasing an additional 337,845 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of WMT opened at $84.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $678.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.53. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $85.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.84.

About Walmart

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.