Howland Capital Management LLC Has $31.83 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Howland Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 351,490 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 737 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.4% of Howland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $31,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third 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. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.95.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $102.77 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.11. The firm has a market cap of $825.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 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’s fifty day moving average is $94.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.36.

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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm 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 firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.