Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Parthenon LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Parthenon LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 234,017 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,950 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 2.6% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $103.90 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.60 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $834.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

Walmart Company 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.