Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Cuts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,634 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,789 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 307.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,506 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,712,000 after buying an additional 152,845 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,345,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $429,629,000 after buying an additional 732,313 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,540 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,177.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 74,156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,021,000 after buying an additional 68,349 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.08.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $91.46. 8,429,067 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,025,015. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.44 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.63. The firm has a market cap of $734.73 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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 fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. Corporate 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.