Winch Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 0.0 %

WMT stock opened at $91.33 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $733.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.03.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WMT. TD Cowen upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.