New Century Financial Group LLC Sells 346 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,854 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 346 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $94.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.95. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.47 and a one year high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.