Financial Life Planners Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,307 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $118,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,609 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.37.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.48. The firm has a market cap of $810.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $55.85 and a one year high of $100.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.