Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Cut by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 71,979 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,503 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.1% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,197,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $81,082,000 after acquiring an additional 58,542 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 80,261 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,434,000 after purchasing an additional 5,008 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 217,577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,732,000 after buying an additional 24,615 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 159.3% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 595,653 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,000 after buying an additional 365,914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $92.02 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.01 and a 200-day moving average of $81.10. The stock has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company 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.