Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 554 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,878 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 554 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 39,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 410,077 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,135,000 after acquiring an additional 8,683 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 7,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panoramic Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $412,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of 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. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $822.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.27 and its 200 day moving average is $84.59. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.11. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share 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.