Ballentine Partners LLC Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,762 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Martel Wealth Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 28,117 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,540,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,744 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,868,000 after buying an additional 3,875 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 8,072 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Finally, New Hampshire Trust lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 48,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,421,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $747.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.44 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total transaction of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart 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.