Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. Invests $318,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,934 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,873,053 shares in the company, valued at $312,322,993.92. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,309,091 shares of company stock worth $183,375,539. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,460,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,858,213. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.51 and a 52 week high of $96.18. The company has a market capitalization of $757.39 billion, a PE ratio of 38.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.74.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.