Blair William & Co. IL Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Walmart by 2.5%, now holding 2,444,485 shares worth $214.6 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent analyst reports have set new target prices for Walmart shares, with targets ranging from $103.00 to $117.00, indicating strong buy sentiments from most analysts.
• Recent insider sales included transactions by Walmart executives totaling over $1.4 million, with corporate insiders currently owning 45.58% of the stock.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,444,485 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 62,128 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Walmart were worth $214,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $800,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 36,945 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,338,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 21,050 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 6,550 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $99.49. The company had a trading volume of 19,042,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,544,672. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.08. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $66.67 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $793.95 billion, a PE ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $106.67.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $216,260.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 626,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,547,399.40. This trade represents a 0.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.14, for a total transaction of $380,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,056,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,511,128.70. The trade was a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 146,112 shares of company stock valued at $14,080,073. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.