Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Has $1.60 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in 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 (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,685 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7 %

Walmart stock opened at $97.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.91 and its 200-day moving average is $82.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.04 and a fifty-two week high of $99.00.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.11.

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.