Synergy Asset Management LLC Invests $690,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,890 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7 %

WMT stock opened at $97.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.90. The company has a market cap of $787.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.04 and a fifty-two week high of $99.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of Walmart 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 acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.11.

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.