Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,620,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 346,010 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.8% of Empower Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $236,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $104.04 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.99 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.53.

About Walmart

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.