Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,555 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 392 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $782.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.51 and a 1 year high of $97.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.02 and a 200-day moving average of $82.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.