Scott Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Scott Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,279 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $92.02 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $91.15 and a 200 day moving average of $81.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.44 and a 1 year high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.