Nvest Financial LLC Has $5.48 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Nvest Financial LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,658 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 8,918 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 2.8% of Nvest Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Nvest Financial LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $5,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $98.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $792.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.47, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.04 and a twelve month high of $98.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was 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 have sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.