ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,485,993 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 74,006 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.7% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Walmart worth $233,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 93,272.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 821,003,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $129,045,359,000 after buying an additional 820,124,410 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,104,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,691,763,000 after purchasing an additional 249,501 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 112,181.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,854,919 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,240,599,000 after purchasing an additional 22,834,564 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Walmart by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,382,688 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,173,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923,199 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $2,598,736,000. 33.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. TD Cowen restated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.37, for a total value of $164,370.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,570,601.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.37, for a total transaction of $164,370.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 167,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,570,601.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 9,708 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.40, for a total transaction of $1,576,579.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,461,509 shares in the company, valued at $237,349,061.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,166 shares of company stock valued at $5,066,701. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $155.35. 14,177,801 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,899,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.82. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.09 and a 1 year high of $169.94. The company has a market cap of $418.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The retailer reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.53. Walmart had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $160.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, and other units 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, walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, and samsclub.com; and mobile commerce applications.