Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 541,634 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,086 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.0% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Walmart were worth $48,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 18.8% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 21.0% in the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,623 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,069,000 after acquiring an additional 4,455 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 351.1% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Violich Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.5% during the third quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $104.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.56. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.99 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $1,207,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,352,180. This represents a 2.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.53.

Walmart 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.