Spinnaker Investment Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Spinnaker Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,576 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 491 shares during the period. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WMT opened at $94.84 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.47 and a 1 year high of $96.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research 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.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.