Windward Capital Management Co. CA Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,724 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,479 shares during the quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank cut shares of 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, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $102.86 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $826.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.21, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $103.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.82. 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 (NYSE:WMT) 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,207,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,352,180. This represents a 2.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 in the last ninety days. 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.