Blue Trust Inc. Buys 22,387 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,077 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,387 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,395 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Walmart by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 10,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,859 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $83.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.36 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.51 and a twelve month high of $97.84. The firm has a market cap of $782.16 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $92.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.49.

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