Crescent Sterling Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,341 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.1% of Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in Walmart by 3.9% in the second quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 5,789 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 307.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 202,506 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,712,000 after buying an additional 152,845 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,345,129 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $429,629,000 after acquiring an additional 732,313 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,540 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,177.0% during the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 74,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,021,000 after buying an additional 68,349 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $93.03 on Monday. 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 52 week low of $53.39 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $747.35 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly 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. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 in the last 90 days. 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.