LifePlan Financial LLC Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LifePlan Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 96.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,949 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,881 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.0% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

WMT stock opened at $93.26 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.79. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.44 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $749.19 billion, a PE ratio of 38.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’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 owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 97,928 shares of company stock valued at $8,978,123 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.