Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 22.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,768 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,022 shares of company stock valued at $16,618,422 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $91.20 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.09. 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 company has a market cap of $731.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. 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.