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

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,117 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Walmart by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 36,282,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,456,704,000 after purchasing an additional 644,353 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $318,238,881.91. This represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 593,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,198,598.40. The trade was a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock worth $12,478,149. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.69.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $93.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $91.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.63. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.44 and a one year high of $96.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $747.51 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Walmart

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.