Ballast Inc. Lowers Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ballast Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,102 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,270 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 0.6% of Ballast Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $92.02 on Monday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $91.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.37. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The company has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America raised 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.