Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Sells 23,307 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 72.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,943 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 23,307 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $98.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,997,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,022,167. The firm has a market capitalization of $792.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $92.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.79. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.04 and a 1 year high of $98.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for 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%. The business's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.