Ipsen Advisor Group LLC Purchases Shares of 18,842 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Ipsen Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 18,842 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,702,000. Walmart makes up approximately 1.5% of Ipsen Advisor Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 3.2 %

WMT stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. 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 $678.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s 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.