Advisory Resource Group Grows Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,044 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group’s holdings in Walmart were worth $817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% in 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 buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of WMT opened at $101.17 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.85 and a fifty-two week high of $103.11. The company has a market capitalization of $812.73 billion, a PE ratio of 41.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.01.

About Walmart

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.