Rahlfs Capital LLC Makes New $5.52 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Rahlfs Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 61,044 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,515,000. Walmart accounts for 5.1% of Rahlfs Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $195,052.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 398,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. This represents a 0.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $83.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.