MFA Wealth Services Buys New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MFA Wealth Services purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 11,638 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,051,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.84 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.13. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.47 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company 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%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the 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 approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

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.