Guardian Investment Management Sells 3,995 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Guardian Investment Management trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,800 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,995 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 3.7% of Guardian Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 grew its position in Walmart by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $92.02 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.15 and its 200-day moving average is $81.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.44 and a 1-year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

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.