Okabena Investment Services Inc. Sells 8,343 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Okabena Investment Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 52.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,677 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,343 shares during the period. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP grew its stake in Walmart by 186.6% in the 1st quarter. BlueSpruce Investments LP now owns 10,332,775 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $621,723,000 after acquiring an additional 6,727,200 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 202.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,431,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $567,499,000 after acquiring an additional 6,314,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at approximately $320,246,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total transaction of $182,823,328.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $90.44 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.84. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.85 and a 1 year high of $90.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $726.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current 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.