Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,849 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,857 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,800,743 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $142,973,000 after acquiring an additional 83,376 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $285,000. First United Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 8,555 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $258,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $103.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $832.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.82. 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 52 week low of $55.85 and a 52 week high of $103.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,177 shares of company stock valued at $16,403,728. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.56.

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.