Iowa State Bank Decreases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Iowa State Bank trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,544 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Walker Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Walker Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,074 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 12.0% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 9,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 113.3% in the third quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,425,000 after buying an additional 22,692 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in Walmart by 5.5% in the third quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 29,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 52,002 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,199,000 after acquiring an additional 13,584 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Truist Financial upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $73.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.32.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,862,930.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.61, for a total transaction of $2,056,445.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,931,301 shares in the company, valued at $277,589,163.61. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.97, for a total transaction of $242,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 381,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,862,930.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,937. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $80.09 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.85 and a 52-week high of $81.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $643.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.64, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.51. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.