Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 593,874 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 25.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,910,626 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 593,874 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $262,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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. Insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.03. The company had a trading volume of 18,134,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,832,559. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.39 and a one year high of $96.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $747.35 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS 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 period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.08.

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.