Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 71.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,702 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,415 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its position in Walmart by 3.8% in the second quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 25,537 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 516,256 shares of the retailer's stock worth $34,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,258 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 19,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at about $829,000. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,708,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.61. 10,992,918 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,019,792. 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 stock has a market cap of $792.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.47, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $92.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.79. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.04 and a 12-month high of $98.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.