First Financial Corp IN Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First Financial Corp IN lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,457 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,134 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 307.8% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,506 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,712,000 after acquiring an additional 152,845 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $167,000. Bcwm LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bcwm LLC now owns 127,842 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. increased its stake in Walmart by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 7,520 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of WMT opened at $91.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $734.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $90.56 and a 200 day moving average of $80.80. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.44 and a 1-year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.