Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 17,547 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Legato Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,865 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 17,547 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $105.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $844.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. 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 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $105.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.85.

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.