Winch Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased 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 during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment 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.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $91.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $90.86 and a 200-day moving average of $81.03. The company has a market cap of $733.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.48, a PEG ratio of 4.41 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. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.