JGP Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,253 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.5% of JGP Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Walmart by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 204,338 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,462,000 after acquiring an additional 10,786 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 215,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,436,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $252,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 873,049 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $78,880,000 after buying an additional 7,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in Walmart by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,976 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,344 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.49.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 138,347 shares of company stock worth $12,311,491. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $91.33 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.86 and its 200-day moving average is $81.03. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.44 and a 12 month high of $96.18. The firm has a market cap of $733.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.