Clarus Group Inc. Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Clarus Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,032 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,190 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.5% of Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. 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 $822.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.59. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $103.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.