Phillips Wealth Planners LLC Trims Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,950 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,175 shares during the quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $753.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $91.62 and its 200 day moving average is $81.87. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.