Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 7,487 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,972 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,487 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT traded up $3.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $85.55. The stock had a trading volume of 17,356,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,357,773. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $93.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.67.

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, beating 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 company 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.