Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Reduced by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 200,155 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,444 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

Walmart stock opened at $102.86 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $103.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $93.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.82. The firm has a market cap of $826.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

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.