CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,286 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th 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 lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.84 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.21. The stock has a market cap of $761.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.47 and a twelve month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total transaction of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % 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 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

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.