Montecito Bank & Trust Cuts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Montecito Bank & Trust lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,412 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 864 shares during the quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position 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. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen upped 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, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.84 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.47 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.95. 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 company has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.