Summit Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,080 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,517 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 0.6% of Summit Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $17,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hoey Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 52,829 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,773,000 after buying an additional 21,590 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $191,000. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 3,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 306,053 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,652,000 after purchasing an additional 134,149 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in Walmart by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 68,881 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 22,807 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial boosted 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 raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $85.08 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day moving average is $89.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.