Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,639 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 45.0% in the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT traded up $0.93 on Friday, hitting $90.93. The company had a trading volume of 5,602,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,136,942. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.47. The company has a market capitalization of $730.48 billion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.54. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.87 and a 12-month high of $96.18.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

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.