Advance Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Advance Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,390 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Advance Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $91.31. 14,502,896 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,526,692. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.80. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.23 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. The company 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%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.69.

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.