MFA Wealth Services Makes New $1.05 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MFA Wealth Services acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,638 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,051,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WMT. KeyCorp upped 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

WMT stock opened at $94.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $92.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.13. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.47 and a 12 month high of $96.18. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share 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.