Arlington Partners LLC Sells 7,307 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Arlington Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,902 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,307 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.6% of Arlington Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after buying an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WMT opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $822.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.27 and a 200-day moving average of $84.59.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.