West Branch Capital LLC Buys 3,034 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,915 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,034 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 2.0% of West Branch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank lifted its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 50 day moving average price of $91.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.87. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18.

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 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 company earned $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,928 shares of company stock valued at $8,978,123. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.