Baron Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,392 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Down 0.7 %

WMT stock opened at $97.97 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.04 and a 12-month high of $99.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.91 and its 200 day moving average is $82.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $787.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. UBS Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.11.

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.