Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,115 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,115 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $191,000. Walmart comprises approximately 0.1% of Prudent Man Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 306,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,652,000 after purchasing an additional 134,149 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in Walmart by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 68,881 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 22,807 shares in the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $552,000. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 5,820 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” 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 research report on Monday, March 17th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value 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 approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.08 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.40. The firm has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.