Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Buys 12,666 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 366.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,126 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,666 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 73,513 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,654,000 after purchasing an additional 19,955 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Intellectus Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 23,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $288,000. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,358,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $91.68 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. 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 market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.26.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last quarter. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.