Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,600 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,179 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.7% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $84.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $81.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.78. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $85.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $677.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.81, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.18.

About Walmart

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.