New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $472.55 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,851,985 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 434,328 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.6% of New York State Common Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Walmart worth $472,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 237.6% during the 1st quarter. Dominguez Wealth Management Solutions Inc. now owns 4,973 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the first quarter worth $241,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 208.7% during the first quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 316.3% during the first quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 175,887 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,583,000 after buying an additional 133,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stewart & Patten Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Stewart & Patten Co. LLC now owns 7,128 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 4,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE WMT traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,093,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,792,023. 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 50 day simple moving average is $79.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.94. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.85 and a twelve month high of $83.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $657.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.61, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $232,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 384,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,765,104.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,334,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,577,287 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.