VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC Buys New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 600 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $57.77 and a one year high of $105.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

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.