Advyzon Investment Management LLC Takes $1.68 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,602 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000. Walmart makes up approximately 0.6% of Advyzon Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 8,814.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885,106 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $103.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.17. 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 capitalization of $834.69 billion, a PE ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.60 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup upped 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.