FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 733.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,960 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,324 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.1% of FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. FOCUS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $92.02 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

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.