Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,233 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 750 shares during the quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $92.02 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.