Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,172 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $92.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.10. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18.

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

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.