Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Purchases 48,819 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,064,228 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,819 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 1.8% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $96,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $102.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $825.62 billion, a PE ratio of 42.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.36. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $103.11.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.95.

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.