Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,762 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 5.6% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 44,556 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Walmart by 102.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,483,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $168,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,313 shares during the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the second quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,659 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.63. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $747.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment 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 MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.