Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $42.95 Million Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 475,322 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,944 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $42,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Montis Financial LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 24.8% during the third quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 6,036 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 35,697 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 16,549 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 214,159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares in the last quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 31,779 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $101.17 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $94.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $812.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

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.