Trust Point Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Trust Point Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,591 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in 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 during the period. Finally, Hoese & Co LLP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.01.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $102.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $102.58. The firm has a market cap of $823.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

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.