Synergy Financial Group LTD Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Synergy Financial Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,291 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after buying an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 45.0% during the third quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 28,453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,298,000 after acquiring an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 21.9% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 587,001 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $47,400,000 after acquiring an additional 105,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 934,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.46, for a total transaction of $74,215,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 610,843,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,537,610,048.28. This represents a 0.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,243,091 shares of company stock worth $257,591,179. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $93.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $754.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.54. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.85 and a 12-month high of $96.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.28.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.