Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,419 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in Walmart were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.20 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.44. The company has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % 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 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.