Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 5,178 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,342,757 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.7% of Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Walmart were worth $121,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying 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. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $102.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $825.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.18, a PEG ratio of 4.25 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.36. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $103.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.95.

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.