Ascent Group LLC Reduces Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ascent Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,824 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 746 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of Ascent Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the third 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 23,273,933 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,879,370,000 after purchasing an additional 228,121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,385,186 shares of company stock valued at $963,206,365. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.88.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $92.50 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $92.64. The stock has a market cap of $743.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.04.

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

Walmart Company 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.