Financial Advisory Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Financial Advisory Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,787 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,840 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.8% of Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Financial Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

WMT opened at $102.86 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $103.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.82. 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 $826.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI increased 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

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.