Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 536 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its stake in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

WMT opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.63. The firm has a market cap of $747.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.