Garner Asset Management Corp Decreases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Garner Asset Management Corp lowered its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 44,624 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 715 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler boosted 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. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $92.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $92.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $744.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.