Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 181,467 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 216.4% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 2.0 %

Walmart stock opened at $91.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $733.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $91.88. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

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.