KBC Group NV Purchases 20,987 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,181,078 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 20,987 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $95,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 253.0% in the first quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 216.4% during the first quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Walmart from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $84.84.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $85.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $85.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.44. The firm has a market cap of $687.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total value of $209,607,941.31. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,709,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 630,501,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,781,873,820.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.