Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 50.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,542 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $217,000. Weaver Consulting Group boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 9,588 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,979,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.8% during the third quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 4,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 18,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Walmart stock opened at $95.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $95.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $766.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,300,460 shares of company stock valued at $570,820,065 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.