New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 1,800 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 207,079 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.6% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.33. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.99 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.17.

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.