Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Invests $597,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,603 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $1,930,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 737,090 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $66,596,000 after acquiring an additional 18,896 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Research LLC grew its position in Walmart by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 15,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Walmart by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,000,387 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $180,735,000 after acquiring an additional 99,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY grew its position in Walmart by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 133,746 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.44. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 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.