Kozak & Associates Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 619 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $56,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $91.88. 8,763,247 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,341,198. 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 company has a market cap of $738.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.23 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.41 and a 200 day moving average of $79.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.69.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. 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.