Synergy Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,364 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,364 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $123,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after purchasing an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 29.6% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,160 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 4,830 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 946.1% in the third quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 57,955 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,680,000 after purchasing an additional 52,415 shares in the last quarter. Legacy CG LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.5% in the third quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 82,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,630,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 18.3% in the third quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $761.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid 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 yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.