Syverson Strege & Co Buys 1,524 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Syverson Strege & Co raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,063 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.4% of Syverson Strege & Co’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Syverson Strege & Co’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $87.56 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $701.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.19.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Company 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.