Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 2,182 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meyer Handelman Co. decreased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 759,525 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,182 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 2.4% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $68,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $91.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.96. The firm has a market cap of $734.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.44 and a 1 year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Barclays lifted 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. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

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.