Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Purchases 20,300 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 89.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,936 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.1% of Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobart Private Capital LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 6,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,993,095.80. This represents a 6.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.60 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

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.