Sherman Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,488 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $677,000. Walmart accounts for about 0.6% of Sherman Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its position in Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.20 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.