Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 5,190 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,247 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,190 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.8% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $24,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 91,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,299,000 after acquiring an additional 6,857 shares in the last quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,131 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 61,904 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,593,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 25,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its stake in Walmart by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 18,600 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.56.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $103.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $832.42 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $103.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $94.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.