Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC Invests $1.93 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 21,357 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,000. Walmart makes up about 1.4% of Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WMT. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 3.1 %

WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.44.

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 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.