Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Lowers Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV cut its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,329 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,508 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $104.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.99 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.33. 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.17.

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.