Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,765 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 36,305 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $800,454,000 after buying an additional 8,674,100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Walmart by 284.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,122,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $669,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225,552 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $82.45 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $662.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.87, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.41. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $83.34.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,334,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,577,287. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. DA Davidson 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.89.

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.