Griffin Asset Management Inc. Buys 383 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,303 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.7% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $97.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $783.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.50 and its 200 day moving average is $82.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.54 and a 52 week high of $98.17. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company 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.