Suncoast Equity Management Acquires New Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Suncoast Equity Management acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,229 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Financial Harvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 19,091 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares in the last quarter. One Day In July LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 6,914 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 11,947 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,543 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.43.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded down $2.51 on Friday, hitting $94.70. 34,962,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,919,441. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $95.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.02%.

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.