Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 381,128 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 40,547 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $34,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock worth $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.94.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart
Walmart Trading Up 2.0%
WMT stock traded up $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $98.26. The company had a trading volume of 33,699,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,891,942. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.63 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $786.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.77, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.19 and a 200 day moving average of $92.40. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Walmart Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Walmart news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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.
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