Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,986 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,094 shares during the quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Barclays increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.02. 15,705,502 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,296,278. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $91.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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.