Empirical Finance LLC Has $13.08 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Empirical Finance LLC lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,721 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,868 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.8% of Empirical Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.6 %

WMT opened at $101.17 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $103.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $812.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.26.

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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, 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 worth $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.01.

About Walmart

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.