St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC Has $3.32 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 31.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,719 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,852 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 2.4% of St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $91.39 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.96. 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 $734.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55.

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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value 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 represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.