Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,020 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $731.14 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.09. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm 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%. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 177,022 shares of company stock worth $16,618,422. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.