Whittier Trust Co. Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 257,042 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 59,089 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $20,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Walmart by 181.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Walmart by 3.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,353,881,000 after purchasing an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Walmart by 5.4% in the second 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $80.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $650.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.83. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $81.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.