Stonegate Investment Group LLC Has $178.56 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC trimmed its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,976,278 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 47,279 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 4.8% of Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $178,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $98.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.79. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.04 and a one year high of $98.93. The firm has a market cap of $792.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 in the last 90 days. 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.