Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 704,447 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 51,148 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $56,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Walmart by 181.0% in 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. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Walmart by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,353,881,000 after purchasing an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after purchasing an additional 834,005 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.31. 12,324,148 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,648,294. The firm has a market capitalization of $653.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.61. 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 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.82.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 target price (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total value of $2,056,445.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,931,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,589,163.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.