Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Has $4.73 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,573 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,376 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.4% of Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.18.

Walmart Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $84.27 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $85.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $677.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.51. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $81.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.