Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Affinity Capital Advisors LLC

Affinity Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,187 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.08.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $90.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.96. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company has a market capitalization of $729.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,347 shares of company stock valued at $12,311,491 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.