Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,879 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.08.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. 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 138,347 shares of company stock valued at $12,311,491 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $90.79 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $729.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $90.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.96.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company 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.