Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Position Lifted by Black Diamond Financial LLC

Black Diamond Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,616 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,344 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.71. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.44%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.