Howe & Rusling Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,388 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $85.62 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.20. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $686.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given 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 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

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.