MONECO Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,382 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,252 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of WMT opened at $94.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.63 and a 200 day moving average of $86.71. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.77 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.