Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,709 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 390 shares during the period. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.2 %

WMT stock opened at $93.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $91.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.79. 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 company has a market cap of $749.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.44 and a 12 month high of $96.18.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company 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 company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold a total of 97,928 shares of company stock worth $8,978,123 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.