Fire Capital Management LLC Takes $1.71 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 18,932 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,711,000. Walmart comprises 1.3% of Fire Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 98,150 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 21,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in Walmart by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd now owns 10,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock traded up $1.47 on Friday, reaching $98.57. 29,968,085 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,929,068. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.19 and a 200-day moving average of $93.26. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $788.65 billion, a PE ratio of 40.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Walmart's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total value of $2,815,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $429,896,799.42. This represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.75, for a total value of $387,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,092,455 shares in the company, valued at $105,695,021.25. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

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.