5,362 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by Grant Private Wealth Management Inc

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,362 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $270,000. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $28,828,000. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 35,280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $787,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $89.88 on Thursday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $720.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.29, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities 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 paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.