Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 50.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,542 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 45.0% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 21.9% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $95.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $766.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.54. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $95.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.71.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,300,460 shares of company stock valued at $570,820,065. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.11.

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.