Diversify Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,152 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,310 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 383,412 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,961,000 after purchasing an additional 11,816 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 159.6% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 24,544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 24.3% in the second quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 22,500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 185,400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,553,000 after buying an additional 47,380 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 69,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,704,000 after acquiring an additional 12,104 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,149 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

WMT opened at $92.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $739.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. 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 fifty day moving average price of $91.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.46. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18.

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. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

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.