Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 161,277 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for 4.4% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc lifted its holdings in Walmart by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 4,244 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.8% in the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 139,003 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,224,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spring Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 189.5% in the 3rd quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 84,476 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,821,000 after purchasing an additional 55,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.62 and its 200 day moving average is $86.25. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.60 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $781.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This is a boost from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Barclays raised 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.