Kennondale Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kennondale Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 18,377 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,660,000. Walmart comprises about 1.4% of Kennondale Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

WMT stock opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.88.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given 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 1.07%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.