Monarch Capital Management Inc. Sells 5,209 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 145,674 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,209 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 3.6% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $92.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.