Country Trust Bank Sells 71,514 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Country Trust Bank lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 488,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 71,514 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.1% of Country Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $44,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.97 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.07 and a 200-day moving average of $83.10. The company has a market cap of $787.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.04 and a 52 week high of $99.00.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share 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.