Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Reduces Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 214,333 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,716 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 1.3% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.08.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.73. 7,241,488 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,948,687. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $744.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.39 and a 1-year high of $96.18. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.