Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 3,888 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Carret Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 123,124 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,888 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 1.1% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 199.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st 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. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,353,881,000 after acquiring an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Walmart by 5.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $82.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $663.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.90, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.47. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $83.34.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during 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%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,784,857. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.51.

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.