Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,272 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 773 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $101.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $93.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.95. The firm has a market cap of $812.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.52, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $103.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.