Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 38,285 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 35.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,435 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 38,285 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $13,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 619 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,720 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.3% during the third quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,549 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,459 shares of the retailer's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $92.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,705,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,296,278. The stock has a market cap 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.27. 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 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.49.

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.