Evanson Asset Management LLC Sells 3,300 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Evanson Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,193 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,300 shares during the quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in 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 buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,456,704,000 after acquiring an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.05. The stock had a trading volume of 23,228,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,407,088. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $747.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $91.31 and its 200-day moving average is $81.63.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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.