Redmond Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 22,666 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,048,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.77 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.44. The company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.