Portfolio Design Labs LLC Buys 2,592 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 85.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,641 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $142,973,000 after purchasing an additional 83,376 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $285,000. First United Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Walmart by 8.7% in the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 8,555 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $258,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $103.62 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.82. 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 company has a market cap of $832.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.85 and a 12-month high of $103.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price 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 issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.56.

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.