Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Sells 8,751 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,552 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,751 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Walmart stock opened at $94.84 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.47 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $92.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.21. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $761.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.