Physicians Financial Services Inc. Has $12.87 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,323 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,810 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 4.0% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Liberty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth about $270,000. Commerce Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 189.4% during the 1st quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 917,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $55,213,000 after purchasing an additional 600,521 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 290.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 270,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200,947 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter worth $723,000. Finally, Meridian Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 200.2% during the first quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 140,880 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,477,000 after buying an additional 93,955 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at $29,765,104.20. 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 at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. 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 worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.76. 966,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,715,926. The company has a market capitalization of $681.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.59, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $85.54.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share 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.