Highland Capital Management LLC Has $9.64 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 274.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,745 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 78,226 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $9,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 884,820 shares of the retailer's stock worth $71,449,000 after acquiring an additional 70,808 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 14,598 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. Meritas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,052 shares of the retailer's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Marotta Asset Management acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Wiser Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.11.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $787.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.46 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.04 and a 52 week high of $99.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 579,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,352,180. The trade was a 2.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.