Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Trimmed by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 273,437 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.7% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 199.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $24,774,717,000 after purchasing an additional 274,229,968 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Walmart by 181.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,421,342,000 after acquiring an additional 36,625,314 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Walmart by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,766,325 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,353,881,000 after acquiring an additional 484,196 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Walmart by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,184,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,095,946,000 after acquiring an additional 834,005 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $83.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $669.26 billion, a PE ratio of 43.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $83.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.08.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total value of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,295,088 shares of company stock worth $955,284,831. Company 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.