Diversified Portfolios Inc. Buys New Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Diversified Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,373 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $105.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $844.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.13, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.85 and a 1-year high of $105.24. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $94.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.85.

Walmart Company 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.