Slow Capital Inc. Trims Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Slow Capital Inc. lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,942 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,694 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Slow Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Slow Capital Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 13,903 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business'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 sale, 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 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, 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 transaction of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock traded up $1.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $98.61. The company had a trading volume of 10,992,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,019,792. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $92.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.04 and a 1-year high of $98.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.