Calamos Advisors LLC Has $155.66 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,722,893 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 31,984 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.7% of Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $155,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in 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. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $102.47 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $823.21 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $102.58.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.01.

Walmart 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.