Atticus Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Atticus Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,945 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $10,645,000. Apexium Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 6,116 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 104,077 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,403,000 after acquiring an additional 22,387 shares in the last quarter. Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $782.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.49. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $54.51 and a one year high of $97.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.