PFW Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,581 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,588,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.39 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $90.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $734.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 4.47 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. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.44 and a 52 week high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 138,347 shares of company stock valued at $12,311,491. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.08.

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.