True North Advisors LLC Has $1.08 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

True North Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,929 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the third quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE WMT opened at $93.75 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.62 and its 200-day moving average is $81.87. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $753.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,928 shares of company stock valued at $8,978,123. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.