Zhang Financial LLC Purchases 4,713 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 47.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,669 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,713 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 44,556 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Walmart by 102.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,483,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $168,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,313 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 3.4% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the second quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the second quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 4,659 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.44 and a fifty-two week high of $96.18. 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 company has a market cap of $747.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $91.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.63.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Walmart from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total transaction of $246,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at $31,054,909.80. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.