Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 5,178 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,342,757 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,178 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.7% of Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Walmart were worth $121,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $102.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.07 and its 200-day moving average is $84.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $825.62 billion, a PE ratio of 42.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $103.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Corporate 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.