Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,194 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $761.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.03.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WMT shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. 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, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.