Nvest Financial LLC Sells 311 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nvest Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 3.2% of Nvest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 113.3% in the third quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,726 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 22,692 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its stake in Walmart by 5.5% in the third quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 29,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 35.4% during the third quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 52,002 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 13,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 39,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,173,000 after buying an additional 11,586 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,787,946.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at $49,123,611.60. The trade was 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, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total transaction of $207,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,787,946.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock worth $958,267,937. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $79.81. 3,495,992 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,253,576. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.68. The firm has a market cap of $641.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.60.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company 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.