Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $226.08 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,799,751 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 158,243 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $226,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after buying an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,454,000 after purchasing an additional 8,674,100 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Walmart by 284.0% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,227,000 after buying an additional 8,225,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 184.1% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 12,567,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $756,188,000 after buying an additional 8,144,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.31. The stock had a trading volume of 12,324,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,134,037. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $654.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $77.90 and its 200 day moving average is $69.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.96.

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.