Howland Capital Management LLC Has $31.83 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,490 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 737 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.4% of Howland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $31,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 6,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.6 %

WMT stock opened at $102.77 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $103.11. The stock has a market cap of $825.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.36. 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) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.95.

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.