Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Lifted by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 728,090 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 36,494 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $65,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WMT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $702.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.61. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 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.

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