J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,909 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,781 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $12,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.87.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.88. 10,824,020 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,888,060. 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 52-week low of $57.60 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $834.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. The business's fifty day moving average is $95.38 and its 200-day moving average is $86.05.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS 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.