Bay Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bay Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,536 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Potentia Wealth bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $410,000. Mosaic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $445,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $596,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 27,545 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Finally, Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 12,063 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $95.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.19. The stock has a market cap of $701.92 billion, a PE ratio of 36.33, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. 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 1.07%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WMT. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.