Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,251 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $25,000. Kepos Capital LP acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $59.32 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $478.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.99 and a 200-day moving average of $55.90.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.03, for a total transaction of $1,748,313.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,018,650 shares in the company, valued at $241,239,559.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last 90 days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.