Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Trimmed by Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lowered its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 412,265 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 16,631 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp's holdings in Walmart were worth $37,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Darden Wealth Group Inc increased its position in shares of Walmart by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 5,535 shares of the retailer's stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Walmart by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 660,500 shares of the retailer's stock worth $59,676,000 after acquiring an additional 163,500 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,893,930 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $261,488,000 after acquiring an additional 234,658 shares during the period. Rahlfs Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,515,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 4.8 %

NYSE:WMT traded down $4.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.09. The stock had a trading volume of 36,185,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,182,696. The company has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.67. 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.

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Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Analysts predict 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This trade represents a 0.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company 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.