Modera Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 203,150 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $18,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.00. The company had a trading volume of 17,619,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,561,676. The stock has a market cap of $771.16 billion, a PE ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $96.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.03. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.07.

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.