Denali Advisors LLC Has $9.52 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,309 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,906 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 1.0% of Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $9,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.18 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.10. The firm has a market cap of $785.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio 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.