ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 1,067 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,117 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,744 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 3,875 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 8,072 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 48,936 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 81,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,356,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 10,105 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.44 and a 52-week high of $96.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.31 and a 200 day moving average of $81.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. The trade was a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.