Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 13,902 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,902 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 67,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,070,000 after acquiring an additional 12,059 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 139,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,606,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,508 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Finally, Topsail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $711,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 a total of 140,533 shares of company stock worth $13,241,740 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Down 0.9 %

WMT stock opened at $95.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $761.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.58 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.76.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Walmart Profile

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.