ING Groep NV Sells 66,825 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

ING Groep NV reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 548,931 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 66,825 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $103.90 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.60 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $834.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.17. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Citigroup lifted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Walmart 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.