LifePlan Financial LLC Acquires 5,881 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LifePlan Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 96.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,949 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 1.0% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $93.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $749.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.