Sienna Gestion Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sienna Gestion cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 91.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,806 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 105,694 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Walmart were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% during the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $79.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $73.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.57. The stock has a market cap of $635.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.02.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.99.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 8,791 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total value of $597,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 94,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,420,220. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 630,501,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,781,873,820.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,205,423 shares of company stock valued at $788,845,411 in the last 90 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.