Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,906 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.8% of Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the 3rd 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 period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Provident Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $237,000. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,115 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $493,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $105.10 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $105.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $844.29 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.85.

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.