Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 593,874 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,910,626 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 593,874 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $262,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,456,704,000 after buying an additional 644,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WMT traded up $1.15 on Friday, reaching $92.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,082,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,731,652. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.39 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $746.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. 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 fifty day moving average of $90.16 and a 200-day moving average of $80.29.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.08.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,915,110.17. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Walmart

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.