Shum Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Shum Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,544 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719,000. Walmart makes up approximately 1.4% of Shum Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after purchasing an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $47,400,000 after purchasing an additional 105,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 201.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,092 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder S Robson Walton sold 4,057,369 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.20, for a total transaction of $313,228,886.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 611,988,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,245,498,149.60. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 2,375,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.96, for a total value of $182,823,328.48. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 619,646,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,687,998,026.24. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,337,337 shares of company stock worth $958,823,647 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.0 %

WMT stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,853,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,850,416. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.14. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $90.95. The firm has a market cap of $726.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Walmart from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.88.

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.