Financial Perspectives Inc Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Financial Perspectives Inc reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,470 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Black Diamond Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $237,000. Bcwm LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bcwm LLC now owns 127,842 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,656,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at about $167,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 82.7% in the second quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners now owns 8,411 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 3,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Walmart by 5.3% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 96,932 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,563,000 after acquiring an additional 4,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up previously from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. HSBC upped their target price on Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently 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 Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.18. 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 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $80.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $647.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,203,360 shares of company stock worth $788,678,803 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.