Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 66.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,190 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,380 shares during the period. Cannon Financial Strategists Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $82.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.19, for a total value of $207,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 387,165 shares in the company, valued at $26,787,946.35. This represents 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,267,901 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.5 %

Walmart stock opened at $81.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $653.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.68. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $81.82. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.