Vectors Research Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vectors Research Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 75,471 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.8% of Vectors Research Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Vectors Research Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Walmart by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,353,881,000 after acquiring an additional 484,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Walmart by 5.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.84.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $84.47 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $85.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.