Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires 2,186 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 88.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,661 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.61. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $702.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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.