HMV Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

HMV Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,505 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.29 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.74 and a 200-day moving average of $88.62. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Walmart Company 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.