Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,158 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.7% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 23,428 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 43.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 48,767 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,406,000 after buying an additional 14,824 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 199,841 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,056,000 after buying an additional 23,008 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 54,655 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $1,211,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.39 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.44 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $734.17 billion, a PE ratio of 37.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.49.

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.