Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Ballew Advisors Inc

Ballew Advisors Inc lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,929 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Ballew Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE WMT opened at $92.02 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.37. The firm has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.