LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,609 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 482 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Walmart were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.28. The stock had a trading volume of 9,549,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,298,476. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.29. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.39 and a 1-year high of $96.18. 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 $749.35 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.