Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Cut by Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,401 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $94.84 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.95. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.47 and a 52 week high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.