Finward Bancorp Purchases New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Finward Bancorp bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,919 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:WMT traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.17. The company had a trading volume of 21,350,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,819,973. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WMT shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

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.