Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Increased by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 16.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,044 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 71,605 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,782,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 147,438 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,906,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 19,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMT traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $83.62. The stock had a trading volume of 547,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,732,740. 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 firm has a market cap of $672.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.67. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $85.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.89.

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.