Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Invests $597,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,603 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Walmart by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Rovin Capital UT ADV bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 8.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 132,180 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 10,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $85.73. The stock had a trading volume of 9,459,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,768,452. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.60, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.61. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WMT shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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.