WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 128,196 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

WestEnd Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,185 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 128,196 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $47,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $101.17 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $812.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $103.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.07 and a 200-day moving average of $84.26.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.