Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 217,791 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,786 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $34,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Carl Stuart Investment Advisor Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,210,753,000. Sageworth Trust Co lifted its stake in Walmart by 2,414.3% during the first quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 176 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 58.3% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 387.8% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 33.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE WMT opened at $163.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $439.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.83. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $128.07 and a twelve month high of $165.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 21.47%. The firm had revenue of $161.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. StockNews.com started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Walmart from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.51.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $161,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,390,136.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $161,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,390,136.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,149,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.97, for a total transaction of $330,923,871.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235,440,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,250,844,765.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,493,773 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,802,298. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.