D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 370,555 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,488 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $33,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $104.04 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.99 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $94.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share 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.