Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 920,505 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 31,798 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $74,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Walmart by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,353,881,000 after buying an additional 484,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.96.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.31. 12,324,148 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,134,037. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $654.02 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.54. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business 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%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current 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.