MMA Asset Management LLC Has $317,000 Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MMA Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,504 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the quarter. MMA Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9 %

Walmart stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.58. 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 capitalization of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.20 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.