Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases 78,226 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 274.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 106,745 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 78,226 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,649,328 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $787.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.04 and a 52-week high of $99.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Guggenheim increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.11.

About Walmart

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.