Carnegie Investment Counsel Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,123 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Walmart were worth $19,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total transaction of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares in the company, valued at $318,238,881.91. The trade was a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $91.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.03. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The company has a market cap of $733.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.48, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.49.

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.