Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $92,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 119,625 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,556 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 58.5% in the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,901,459 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $196,458,000 after buying an additional 1,070,943 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 31.0% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 39,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after buying an additional 9,347 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 856,406 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $57,987,000 after acquiring an additional 32,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.03. 17,873,524 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,161,235. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.39 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $747.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $90.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.