Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 814,131 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 231,399 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 4.2% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Walmart were worth $73,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.39 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $782.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.02 and a 200-day moving average of $82.29. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.51 and a 52-week high of $97.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

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.