Brighton Jones LLC Purchases 21,939 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,150 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the second quarter valued at $45,264,000. Arkos Global Advisors raised its position in Walmart by 7.8% during the second quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 22,184 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 14.8% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 44,866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,038,000 after purchasing an additional 5,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $270,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $94.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.13. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.47 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. TD Cowen raised 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.