Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Private Client Services LLC

Private Client Services LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,909 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the quarter. Private Client Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during 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. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $91.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,401,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,291,261. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $89.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, 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. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $52.58 and a one year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart 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.