Abacus Planning Group Inc. Purchases 507 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,456 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 291,016 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $45,879,000 after buying an additional 12,362 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,787 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. now owns 4,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in Walmart by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 259,142 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,854,000 after acquiring an additional 6,497 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Walmart by 403.7% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 428,577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $67,565,000 after purchasing an additional 343,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $80.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $647.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.85 and a 12 month high of $81.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.94.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Walmart from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Melius Research started coverage on Walmart in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,123,611.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total transaction of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 463,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,334,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,025,027. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.