Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,726 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,632,000 after buying an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV purchased a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 132,180 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 10,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $736.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 fifty day moving average of $96.19 and a 200-day moving average of $88.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.