Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Wallington Asset Management LLC

Wallington Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,836 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring 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 Up 0.8 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $92.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.27.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Melius Research assumed coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

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.