Permanent Capital Management LP Takes $475,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,243 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $91.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.26. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 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 report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.