Curbstone Financial Management Corp Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,378 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 25,537 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 516,256 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,258 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 19,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $829,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,708,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE WMT opened at $97.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $92.50 and its 200 day moving average is $82.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.54 and a 12 month high of $98.17. The stock has a market cap of $783.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 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.