Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Sells 74,365 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,728,887 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 74,365 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 0.9% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $301,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,282,129 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,102,463,000 after buying an additional 2,246,656 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.25. 11,495,854 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,405,060. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.10 and a 200-day moving average of $77.02. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $50.51 and a one year high of $96.18. The stock has a market cap of $757.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 1,804,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.18, for a total transaction of $142,840,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 605,979,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,981,442,399.24. The trade was a 0.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,309,091 shares of company stock worth $183,375,539 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.33.

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.