WASHINGTON TRUST Co Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 295,411 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,657 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.0% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $26,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $142,973,000 after buying an additional 83,376 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 207,599 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,764,000 after purchasing an additional 23,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,053,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.99 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.17.

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.