Forest Avenue Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 586,153 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $52,959,000. Walmart comprises about 4.8% of Forest Avenue Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Walmart
Walmart Trading Down 0.8 %
NYSE WMT traded down $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.97. 21,858,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,742,933. The stock has a market cap of $753.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a P/E/G 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. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.09.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.
Insider Activity at Walmart
In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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.
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