Stonegate Investment Group LLC Has $178.56 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,976,278 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 47,279 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 4.8% of Stonegate Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Stonegate Investment Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $178,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DZ Bank cut Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.11.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.97. 16,379,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,055,752. The company's 50 day moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day moving average is $82.90. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.04 and a one year high of $99.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $787.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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.