Elios Financial Group Inc. Acquires 756 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Elios Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,407 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Elios Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 31.9% during the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,716 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 140.1% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 151,115 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,203,000 after purchasing an additional 88,177 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in Walmart by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.37.

Walmart Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $90.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $728.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.70, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $92.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.