Blue Trust Inc. Sells 15,169 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,521 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,169 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment 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, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.99 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.09.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.