Lynch & Associates IN Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lynch & Associates IN decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,411 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,850 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 4.1% of Lynch & Associates IN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Walmart were worth $18,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased 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. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.03. 18,011,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,793,515. The stock has a market cap of $747.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.16 and its 200 day moving average is $80.29. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.39 and a 1-year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company 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%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.