15,161 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by ABC Arbitrage SA

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 15,161 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $104.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.99 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $835.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.17.

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.