Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Buys 23,722 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 207,599 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,722 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 138.3% in the 2nd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 253.0% during the 1st quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC now owns 526 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 216.4% during the 1st quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 503 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $81.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.85 and a fifty-two week high of $81.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.54. The company has a market capitalization of $654.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, August 16th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.96.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $166,607.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,113,904.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $166,607.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 459,558 shares in the company, valued at $37,113,904.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,245,498,149.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,267,901. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.