Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Beck Capital Management LLC

Beck Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 91,966 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 2.2% of Beck Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Beck Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WMT. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 178,782 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,305. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $94.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.09 and a 200-day moving average of $90.51. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.