Empowered Funds LLC Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,881 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 41,847 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 253.0% during the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 216.4% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE WMT opened at $84.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $679.31 billion, a PE ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $85.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.53. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.84.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Company 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.