Wedmont Private Capital Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,925 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,083 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Walmart Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE WMT traded down $1.53 on Monday, reaching $91.47. The company had a trading volume of 9,037,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,086,051. 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 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The stock has a market cap of $734.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.54, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $90.38 and its 200-day moving average is $80.63.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % 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 John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.