Tectonic Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,701 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in 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. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $102.86 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $103.02. The company has a market cap of $826.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.01.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.