Brand Asset Management Group Inc. Acquires New Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Brand Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,465 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 5.1% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,197,490 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $81,082,000 after purchasing an additional 58,542 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 80,261 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,434,000 after buying an additional 5,008 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 217,577 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,732,000 after buying an additional 24,615 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 159.3% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 595,653 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,000 after acquiring an additional 365,914 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $92.02 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.01 and its 200 day moving average is $81.10. The company has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for 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 revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

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.