Compass Ion Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,936 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Enhancing Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $1,491,000. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 689,995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $62,341,000 after acquiring an additional 34,931 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $21,942,000. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 22,692 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,055,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrewealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Down 2.2 %

Walmart stock opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $687.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $95.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.93.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.