Hartline Investment Corp Sells 17,900 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hartline Investment Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 185,086 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 17,900 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.9% of Hartline Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5 %

WMT stock opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $822.98 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $103.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.59.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.