Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,272 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 773 shares during the quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its stake in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was 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 owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of 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 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 quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $101.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $812.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $103.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.