Defined Financial Planning LLC Makes New $219,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Defined Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,423 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after acquiring an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.2% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Three research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $92.81 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.43 and a 200-day moving average of $89.95. The firm has a market cap of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.