Griffin Asset Management Inc. Has $14.48 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 160,303 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 1.7% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $36,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.12, for a total value of $246,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 378,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,054,909.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,177 shares of company stock valued at $12,895,688. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.55 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.54 and a 52 week high of $98.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $783.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. Walmart’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Walmart from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment 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, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.69.

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.