Certuity LLC Purchases 2,896 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,888 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during 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. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $103.62 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $103.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $832.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

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.