Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 3,186 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,899 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,186 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Walmart were worth $21,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co boosted its position in Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 3,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Amussen Hunsaker Associates LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,166 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,367,350.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,205,423 shares of company stock valued at $788,845,411. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $79.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $635.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 4.03 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. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS 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.