Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,885 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,885 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000. Walmart comprises 0.2% of Mader & Shannon Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

WMT opened at $103.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $834.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.60 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.56 and a 200 day moving average of $86.17.

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

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.