Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. Invests $219,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,421 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000. Walmart comprises approximately 0.1% of Grunden Financial Advisory Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.7 %

WMT stock opened at $102.47 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $102.58. The firm has a market cap of $823.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $93.46 and its 200-day moving average is $83.69. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.01.

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.