Buckingham Capital Management Inc. Has $409,000 Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Buckingham Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,523 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 290,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,311,000 after buying an additional 9,794 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,040,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 251,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,717,000 after purchasing an additional 28,801 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 33,237 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Walmart by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 370,555 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $33,480,000 after purchasing an additional 13,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $103.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.60 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $833.31 billion, a PE ratio of 42.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.38 and its 200-day moving average is $86.05.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart 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.