Evoke Wealth LLC Has $2.06 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,692 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of WMT opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.56 and a 200 day moving average of $88.93. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $687.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.