LifePlan Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LifePlan Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,068 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 199.3% in the first quarter. Northwest Capital Management Inc now owns 440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 138.3% during the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Cultivar Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Redburn Atlantic raised Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Walmart from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $75.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.62.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.04, for a total transaction of $1,063,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 606,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,123,611.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,398 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.50, for a total value of $166,661.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 463,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,239,034.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,337,670 shares of company stock valued at $958,267,937. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $80.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.03. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $49.85 and a one year high of $81.60. The company has a market capitalization of $646.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.51.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $169.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $168.56 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 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.