Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,720 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,332 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.37.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $810.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. 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’s 50 day moving average is $93.27 and its 200-day moving average is $83.48. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $100.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction 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 approximately $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 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.