Second Half Financial Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Second Half Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,401 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Second Half Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,796,129,000 after acquiring an additional 514,036 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Walmart from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $95.16. 12,914,881 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,810,577. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.58 and a 12-month high of $105.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $762.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $90.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.02.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

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.