Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Decreased by Empirical Capital Management LLC

Empirical Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 170,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22,000 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 8.2% of Empirical Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Empirical Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total value of $28,139,952.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 603,989,702 shares in the company, valued at $47,262,194,181.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 359,616 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.25, for a total transaction of $28,139,952.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 603,989,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,262,194,181.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,317,999 shares of company stock valued at $956,341,379 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.96.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $79.78 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $81.60. The company has a market cap of $641.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current 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.