Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $11.60 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,354 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,589 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.01.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $101.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $93.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $812.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $103.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.