Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Blue Chip Partners LLC

Blue Chip Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,026 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 298 shares during the quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the third 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd 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 lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.53.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $104.04 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.99 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $94.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.