Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stake Lessened by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,446 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,329 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 307.8% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,506 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,712,000 after buying an additional 152,845 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 6,671.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 943,742 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $63,901,000 after acquiring an additional 929,804 shares in the last quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 29.4% during the second quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. now owns 6,339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 121,938 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,256,000 after buying an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter valued at about $657,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $90.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $729.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.44 and a 12 month high of $96.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.96.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 in the last ninety days. 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.