Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Cuts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,231 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,088 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 16,761 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 312,170 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 4,180 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

Walmart stock traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $91.31. 14,504,362 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,526,692. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.23 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.41 and its 200-day moving average is $79.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $733.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

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.