Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 812,284 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,572,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 812,284 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.8% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $445,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted 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 during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.99.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total value of $1,991,790.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,960,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,369,039 shares of company stock worth $959,826,083. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $79.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $635.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.