Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC

Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,663 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,570 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 11,686 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Gutierrez Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,420,000. Truepoint Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $271,000. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 6,746 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $85.78 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.34 and a 200-day moving average of $88.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $687.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

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.