RiverFront Investment Group LLC Grows Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 577,301 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 30,405 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.2% of RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $52,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’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 value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Walmart stock opened at $85.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.25. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.