Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 891 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,463 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 891 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $102.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $826.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.67 and its 200-day moving average is $83.82. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $103.02.

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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.01.

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.