First County Bank CT Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

First County Bank CT reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,770 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,244 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Walmart were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,072,000. Iowa State Bank raised its stake in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $0.42 on Tuesday, hitting $91.01. 6,197,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,530,208. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $731.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.23 and a 52 week high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.