Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC Invests $253,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,795 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $142,973,000 after buying an additional 83,376 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $285,000. First United Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.7% in the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 8,555 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at $258,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

WMT opened at $103.62 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.85 and a twelve month high of $103.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $832.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.56.

Walmart Company 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.