Davis R M Inc. Buys 227 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Davis R M Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,775 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Claris Advisors LLC MO grew its position in shares of Walmart by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 6,465 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $1,115,000. Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $754,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,158 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 352,750 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,871,000 after buying an additional 40,699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.4 %

WMT opened at $87.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $702.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.28, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 90 days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.