Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,629 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Walmart by 8.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 884,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $71,449,000 after buying an additional 70,808 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 43,617 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,753 shares during the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Walmart by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 9,761 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,261 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.37.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,177 shares of company stock worth $12,649,328. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $100.92 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $810.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $93.27 and its 200 day moving average is $83.48. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.85 and a 1 year high of $100.95.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.