Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by NFP Retirement Inc.

NFP Retirement Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,373 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.45.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $90.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $728.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.