Aspen Investment Management Inc Grows Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aspen Investment Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,893 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.9% of Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Aspen Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.87.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.45, for a total value of $512,120.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 87,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,993,095.80. This trade represents a 6.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.85. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.60 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.25. The stock has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. Analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.06%.

Walmart 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.