Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Essex Savings Bank

Essex Savings Bank lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,463 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 533 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 0.9% of Essex Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,765,104.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WMT opened at $84.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $681.88 billion, a PE ratio of 44.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.92. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $85.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.