Forbes J M & Co. LLP Has $16.10 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,138 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 52,251 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.5% of Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.01.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $101.17 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.26. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $103.11. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $812.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

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 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.