Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 34,265 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,096,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Stock Down 1.2 %

WMT stock opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.89. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.18 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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 firm 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 research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.44%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $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 a total of 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.