Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $44.23 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 547,720 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,896 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.8% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Walmart were worth $44,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 11,044 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 71,605 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,782,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 147,438 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,906,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 734,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,733,604. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $80.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $675.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $85.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.89.

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.