Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. decreased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,897 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,076 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.57. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last ninety days. 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.