Means Investment CO. Inc. Sells 468 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Means Investment CO. Inc. cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,362 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.37.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE WMT opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.48. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $100.95. 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 cap of $810.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,207,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 579,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,352,180. This represents a 2.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.