Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Holdings Cut by Wealth Effects LLC

Wealth Effects LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,989 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $98.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $92.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.79. The company has a market cap of $792.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.04 and a 12-month high of $98.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 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.