Whipplewood Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,570 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,570 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % 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 D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.20 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.77 and a 200-day moving average of $87.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.