Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,015,409 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 63,106 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.6% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $81,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total transaction of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.96, for a total value of $1,088,850.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,198,598.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,348,559.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,873,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $312,322,993.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,337,337 shares of company stock valued at $958,823,647. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Walmart in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $84.84.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart

Walmart Price Performance

WMT traded down $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $85.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,221,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,643,002. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.53. 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 capitalization of $683.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.51. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.85 and a 1-year high of $85.79.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The retailer reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $169.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $168.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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