Essex LLC Has $268,000 Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Essex LLC decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,320 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 248 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 138.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 253.0% during the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 216.4% in the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $81.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.90 and its 200-day moving average is $69.61. The stock has a market cap of $653.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $81.82. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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 that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,901 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.96.

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.