Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 3,997 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 336,761 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,997 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 1.0% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $30,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd raised its position in shares of Walmart by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 4,500 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 55,111 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,979,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 32,749 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,959,000 after buying an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 128,402 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,601,000 after buying an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ACT Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.46. The stock had a trading volume of 8,429,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,025,015. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.44 and a twelve month high of $96.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.63. 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 has a market capitalization of $734.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.53, a PEG ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock worth $12,478,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by 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.