Waterway Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Waterway Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,984 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises 0.5% of Waterway Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Waterway Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. First American Bank increased its position in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. First American Bank now owns 178,599 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 57,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after buying an additional 790 shares during the period. Hilltop Partners LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 13,093 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 2,722 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,784 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,245,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 14,722 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.20 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.