Graney & King LLC Invests $119,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,319 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mendel Money Management bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $217,000. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Core Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,041 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 41,444 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,744,000 after purchasing an additional 9,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in Walmart by 247.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 15,258 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,861 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.