Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 30,191 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 50.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 30,191 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Walmart Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $102.86 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $826.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.21, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $93.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Company 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.