Hoey Investments Inc. Purchases 21,590 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 69.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,829 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,590 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Hoey Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in Walmart by 1,007.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.40. 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 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. 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.