Prudent Investors Network Inc. Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Prudent Investors Network Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,506 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $100.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.48. The firm has a market cap of $810.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.37.

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.