J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,909 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,781 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

WMT stock opened at $104.04 on Monday. 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 firm 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.44. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.99 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective 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. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.53.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.