AGP Franklin LLC Purchases Shares of 20,721 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

AGP Franklin LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 20,721 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,872,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer's stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 10.9% in the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $504,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.17. 21,350,174 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,797,031. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $91.71 and its 200-day moving average is $90.18.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is 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.