Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 687,919 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,088 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $62,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $702.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.07 and a 200 day moving average of $88.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.