Moody National Bank Trust Division Reduces Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Moody National Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 64,126 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,282 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.6% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in Walmart by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 63,925 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,945,000 after acquiring an additional 8,083 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 55,830 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,044,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 336,761 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,487,000 after buying an additional 3,997 shares during the period. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd raised its position in Walmart by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 4,500 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 55,111 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,979,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.08.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $1.35 on Monday, reaching $91.65. The stock had a trading volume of 9,960,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,137,566. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.38 and a 200 day moving average of $80.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.