Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 421,121 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cullinan Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 34.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 796,400 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 421,121 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 4.6% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $71,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank boosted its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $102.47 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $823.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.46 and a 200 day moving average of $83.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $102.58.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.01.

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.