Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 6,151 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,172 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,151 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 5.1% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 1,197,490 shares of the retailer's stock worth $81,082,000 after buying an additional 58,542 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 6.7% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 80,261 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,434,000 after purchasing an additional 5,008 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 12.8% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 217,577 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $14,732,000 after purchasing an additional 24,615 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 159.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 595,653 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,000 after buying an additional 365,914 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $92.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,705,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,296,278. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.15 and its 200-day moving average is $81.27. The company has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a P/E 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.49.

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.