Veridan Wealth LLC Makes New $286,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Veridan Wealth LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,874 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.20 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.