Atticus Wealth Management LLC Decreases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Atticus Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,945 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,645,000. Apexium Financial LP grew its position in Walmart by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 6,116 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 104,077 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,403,000 after purchasing an additional 22,387 shares in the last quarter. Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,433,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.51 and a 52 week high of $97.84.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.