Griffith & Werner Inc. Takes $285,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,153 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.1%

WMT stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.46. 5,228,312 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,809,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.77 and a 200-day moving average of $93.15. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.16 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total transaction of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at $49,332,475.50. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,583 shares of company stock worth $16,701,404. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WMT. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Walmart from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently 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.