Gradient Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gradient Investments LLC cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 356,282 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 37,231 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $32,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.84 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.47 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. The company has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.13.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

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.