Strong Tower Advisory Services Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,037 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 992 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.7% of Strong Tower Advisory Services’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Walmart were worth $2,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $92.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $91.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.46. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

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.