Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,124 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 31,169 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 98.2% in the 1st quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. now owns 337 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Lipe & Dalton lifted its position in Walmart by 95.2% during the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 410 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.85, for a total transaction of $1,258,031.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 945,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,619,848.90. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $2,716,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,064,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,112 shares of company stock worth $14,080,073 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $103.27 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.67 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $824.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $97.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

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.