IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 4,594 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 876,630 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,594 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.7% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Walmart were worth $70,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 25,647 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, LVZ Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 7,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $83.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $78.71 and a 200-day moving average of $70.08. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $83.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $667.58 billion, a PE ratio of 43.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $209,607,941.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total value of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,295,088 shares of company stock valued at $955,284,831. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.51.

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.