Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 354 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,986 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $29,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

WMT opened at $91.87 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $92.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $738.47 billion, a PE ratio of 37.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.