Trust Company of Virginia decreased its position in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 76.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,628 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 57,842 shares during the period. Trust Company of Virginia’s holdings in Wal-Mart Stores were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management increased its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management now owns 61,528 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,772,000 after buying an additional 24,557 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Company increased its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 1.3% in the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Company now owns 79,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,168,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management increased its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 21,622 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,325,000 after buying an additional 8,345 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep increased its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 15.5% in the third quarter. ING Groep now owns 586,420 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,024,000 after buying an additional 78,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors increased its position in Wal-Mart Stores by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors now owns 155,900 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,557,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter.

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) traded up 1.31% during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.69. 9,197,462 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.29 and its 200 day moving average is $64.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.73 billion and a PE ratio of 13.42. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.30 and a 1-year high of $89.16.

Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 17th. The retailer reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $117.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will post $4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Vetr raised shares of Wal-Mart Stores from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $70.83 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Friday, January 15th. Bank of America reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Wal-Mart Stores in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Wal-Mart Stores from $66.00 to $55.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank decreased their target price on shares of Wal-Mart Stores from $76.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.42.

In other Wal-Mart Stores news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.46 per share, with a total value of $584,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,364.04. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is engaged in the operation of retail, wholesale and other units in various formats around the world. The Company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices (NYSE:WMT). The Company’s operations are conducted in three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates retail stores in all 50 states in the United States, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, with three primary store formats, as well as digital retail. The Walmart International segment consists of operations in 26 countries outside of the United States and includes numerous formats divided into three main categories: retail, wholesale and other. The Sam’s Club consists of membership-only warehouse clubs and operates in 48 states in the United States and in Puerto Rico, as well as digital retail.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:WMT

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