Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,720 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,332 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Walmart by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 884,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $71,449,000 after buying an additional 70,808 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 43,617 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,753 shares during the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.2% during the third quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Walmart by 74.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,761 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,261 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $100.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $810.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.37.

Walmart 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.