Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Boosted by Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC

Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,659 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 2.8% of Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 383,412 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,961,000 after purchasing an additional 11,816 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,541,659 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $104,388,000 after buying an additional 249,232 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 27.3% in the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 35,845 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after acquiring an additional 7,698 shares during the last quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the second quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 20,745 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Kowal Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the second quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 22,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $92.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $739.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.37. 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 12-month low of $53.44 and a 12-month high of $96.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. 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 research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.