Palacios Wealth Management LLC Invests $516,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Palacios Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,645 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $104.04 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.99 and a 52 week high of $105.30. 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 market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.09.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.17.

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.