Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by World Equity Group Inc.

World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 98.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,330 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,389 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.3% of World Equity Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,353,000. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 16,973 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 16,382 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252 shares in the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors boosted its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 4,104 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,631 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average 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 company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.