Peachtree Investment Partners LLC Takes $303,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Peachtree Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,349 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $2,072,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $83.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $670.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.