Arkansas Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arkansas Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 34.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,096 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,617 shares during the quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 112,181.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,240,599,000 after buying an additional 22,834,564 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,598,736,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,164,937.0% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,718,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,717,995 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in Walmart by 7,546.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,166,995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $467,747,000 after buying an additional 3,125,576 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 179.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,578,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $254,078,000 after buying an additional 2,938,948 shares in the last quarter. 33.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $175.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $166.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.51.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE WMT opened at $164.64 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $443.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.70. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $128.07 and a fifty-two week high of $165.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. Walmart had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 21.47%. The company had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,149,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.97, for a total transaction of $330,923,871.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 235,440,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,250,844,765.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,149,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.97, for a total transaction of $330,923,871.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 235,440,961 shares in the company, valued at $36,250,844,765.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $161,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 169,735 shares in the company, valued at $27,390,136.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,493,773 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,802,298 over the last quarter. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.