Spartan Planning & Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,650 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $782,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $91.08. 5,018,600 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,249,854. The stock has a market cap of $731.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.23 and a 1-year high of $96.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.58 and a 200-day moving average of $79.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $166,624.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.