Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC Trims Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 45.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,243 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,280 shares during the quarter. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $92.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.10. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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.