Horizon Investments LLC Buys 1,836 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,815 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $8,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned 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 an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

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.