Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 307,630 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,932,872 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 307,630 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises approximately 0.7% of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.07% of Walmart worth $284,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Sageworth Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 2,414.3% during the 1st quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 176 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Walmart by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 387.8% in the 1st quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised Walmart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, July 24th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $176.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Walmart from $169.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.51.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $164.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $158.83 and a 200-day moving average of $152.20. The company has a market cap of $442.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $128.07 and a one year high of $164.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The retailer reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $161.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.22 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.47% and a net margin of 2.23%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 473,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.75, for a total transaction of $73,727,377.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 241,479,146 shares in the company, valued at $37,610,376,989.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 473,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.75, for a total value of $73,727,377.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 241,479,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,610,376,989.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $161,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 169,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,390,136.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,862,773 shares of company stock valued at $1,219,366,298. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Company 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.