Clare Market Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 12,344 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 12,344 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $754,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,158 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 352,750 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,871,000 after purchasing an additional 40,699 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.44. The company has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G 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. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Company 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.