Walker Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,725 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Walker Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 128,948 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 7.2% of Walker Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Walker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $92.02 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55.

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