Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Holdings Increased by Strategic Financial Services Inc.

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,454 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $86.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $693.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.