Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,906 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 1.8% of Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

WMT opened at $105.10 on Friday. 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 12 month low of $55.85 and a 12 month high of $105.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.