Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,797,985 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 54,000 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.7% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of Walmart worth $523,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Hobart Private Capital LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 6,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $103.73 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $833.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.05. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.60 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart 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.