Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 12,371 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,402 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,371 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,177 shares of company stock worth $16,403,728 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $835.78 billion, a PE ratio of 42.70, a PEG ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $94.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.33. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.99 and a 1 year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.17.

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.