Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Turning Point Benefit Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,372 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.44. 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 52-week low of $57.77 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

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.