Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 33.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,898 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 87.6% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,030 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 2,349 shares during the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 13,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in Walmart by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 12,999 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.51, for a total transaction of $781,068.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 219,547 shares in the company, valued at $13,065,241.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631 over the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT traded down $0.09 on Monday, reaching $59.73. The company had a trading volume of 6,133,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,455,996. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.02. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.34 and a 1 year high of $61.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $481.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

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.