Beacon Financial Group Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,758 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $103.62 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $103.90. The company has a market cap of $832.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.82.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.56.

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.