Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Purchases 15,372 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,885 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,372 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 3.2 %

WMT stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.25. 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 announced 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.