Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,294 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 71,306 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $103.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $833.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.60 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.05.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

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.