Sovran Advisors LLC Invests $1.54 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,914 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,536,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in Walmart by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 35,147 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,176,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Axecap Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Axecap Investments LLC now owns 44,942 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,061,000 after buying an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,351,000. Bonfire Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 39,756 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,599,000 after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $102.45 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.85 and a 52-week high of $103.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.27 and a 200 day moving average of $84.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $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 valued at $16,403,728 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DZ Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.08.

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.