Curran Financial Partners LLC Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Curran Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,425 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.51 and a 1 year high of $97.84. The stock has a market cap of $782.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WMT. DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

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.