Novare Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Novare Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 398,172 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,504 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 2.4% of Novare Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Novare Capital Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $26,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 199.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 411,745,334 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $24,774,717,000 after acquiring an additional 274,229,968 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 181.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,861,234 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,421,342,000 after purchasing an additional 36,625,314 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $3,674,652,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 183.0% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 29,172,985 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,755,339,000 after purchasing an additional 18,865,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 187.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 13,303,200 shares of the retailer's stock worth $800,454,000 after purchasing an additional 8,674,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.16. 22,658,331 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,442,621. 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 50 day simple moving average of $70.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.08. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $77.81. The firm has a market cap of $620.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $70.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,250,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $82,637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 640,532,611 shares in the company, valued at $42,345,610,913.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 3,633,800 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.80, for a total transaction of $242,737,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 636,898,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,544,840,574.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 1,250,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $82,637,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 640,532,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,345,610,913.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,306,511 shares of company stock worth $420,470,807 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.