Marshall Financial Group LLC Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Marshall Financial Group LLC cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,187 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,448 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.0% of Marshall Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $97.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.29. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.51 and a 12-month high of $97.46. 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 stock has a market cap of $782.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last three months. Corporate 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.