North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases 390 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,645 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 390 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $2,716,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,064,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,252,135. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,583 shares of company stock valued at $16,701,404 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James reduced 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $96.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $772.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.33 and a 200-day moving average of $92.97. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.16 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.