Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Holdings Lowered by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,516 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $782.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.49. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.51 and a fifty-two week high of $97.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

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.