Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 389,167 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,635 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.3% of BNP Paribas’ portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Walmart were worth $31,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 216.4% during the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $91.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $733.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.85 and a 52 week high of $91.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.