OneAscent Financial Services LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 72.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,799 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,099 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer's stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $270,000. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $538,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.7% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 67,487 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,450,000 after buying an additional 16,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 176,652 shares of company stock valued at $16,590,028. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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Walmart Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $1.05 on Wednesday, hitting $89.88. 19,058,138 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,996,110. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $720.55 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a P/E/G 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's 50-day moving average is $94.38 and its 200 day moving average is $89.52.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

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.