Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Occidental Asset Management LLC

Occidental Asset Management LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 70,057 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 972 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.0% of Occidental Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $92.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.10. The stock has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G 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. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.