Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 6,033 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,536 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,033 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.63. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $747.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 4.36 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.