Marotta Asset Management Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Marotta Asset Management cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,371 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Marotta Asset Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. First International Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. First International Bank & Trust now owns 13,681 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 24,260 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 4,806 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 127,329 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,741 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 23,611 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Finally, InvesTrust acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $1,240,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0 %

Walmart stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,843,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,254,057. 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 fifty day moving average of $90.16 and a 200 day moving average of $80.29. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.39 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $744.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 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 firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share 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.