Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,915 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,034 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 2.0% of West Branch Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the third 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. FMR LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $93.75 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $91.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $753.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 4.42 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. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.44 and a 1 year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.