Bonfire Financial Takes $288,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bonfire Financial acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,177 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the third 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 period. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $103.11. The company has a market cap of $822.98 billion, a PE ratio of 42.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $94.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.08.

Walmart Company 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.