Vista Investment Partners II LLC Invests $754,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,346 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.20.

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Walmart Stock Down 2.0 %

WMT stock traded down $1.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,459,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,768,452. The firm's 50-day moving average is $96.07 and its 200-day moving average is $88.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $688.71 billion, a PE ratio of 35.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.