Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $2.50 Million Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,631 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Walmart by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 34,666 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,461 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 42,257 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 8,369 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 78,648 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,351,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $57.77 and a one year high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.57.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 5,446 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,577.05. The trade was a 230.86 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Truist Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Walmart Company 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.