Wealthspire Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,541 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,330 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 78,345 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,351,000 after purchasing an additional 15,448 shares during the last quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in Walmart by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,398,000 after purchasing an additional 53,000 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 32.5% in the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $338,602,000 after acquiring an additional 518,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total transaction of $860,755,966.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 656,397,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,473,631,458.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 14,685,327 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.61, for a total value of $860,755,966.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 656,397,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,473,631,458.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,889,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,387,223. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $485.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Europe boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.94.

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.