Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Decreased by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 16.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 92,100 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 17,862 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 19.8% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 263,911 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,869,000 after acquiring an additional 43,642 shares in the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.4% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,202 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth $212,000. Plancorp LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.5% during the second quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 52,282 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 71,203 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,821,000 after purchasing an additional 4,677 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total value of $1,728,561.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.39, for a total transaction of $1,991,790.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,960,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $270,851,892.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 25,578 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.58, for a total transaction of $1,728,561.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 390,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,367,350.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $64.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.99.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $80.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $647.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.34.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.