Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Essential Planning LLC.

Essential Planning LLC. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 6,536.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 574,746 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 566,085 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.3% of Essential Planning LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Essential Planning LLC.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WMT. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $103.20.

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Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % 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 worth $17,657,316 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WMT opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve 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 $702.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $96.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.61.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.

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