Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Holdings Lowered by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 110,400 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 17,529 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 3.0% of Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Walmart were worth $9,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 8.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 884,820 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $71,449,000 after purchasing an additional 70,808 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 14,598 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Marotta Asset Management bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Wiser Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $247,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.97 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.04 and a twelve month high of $99.00. The stock has a market cap of $787.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. 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 previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict 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.