Key Financial Inc Trims Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Key Financial Inc cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,143 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 435 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE WMT opened at $103.73 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $833.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.05. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $57.60 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

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.