Powers Advisory Group LLC Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Powers Advisory Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,913 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.5% of Powers Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Powers Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $97.97 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $787.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.07 and a 200 day moving average of $83.10. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.04 and a twelve month high of $99.00.

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

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.