Cooper Financial Group Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,958 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Walmart by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 63,925 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,945,000 after buying an additional 8,083 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 55,830 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,044,000 after acquiring an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 336,761 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,997 shares during the last quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 4,500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 55,111 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,979,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.08.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.5 %

WMT traded down $1.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.65. The stock had a trading volume of 9,960,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,137,566. The company has a market capitalization of $736.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.61, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.63.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.