SWS Partners Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

SWS Partners boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in Walmart were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Ring Mountain Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $288,000. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,194 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in Walmart by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 60,872 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,500,000 after acquiring an additional 3,569 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. Finally, Burt Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Burt Wealth Advisors now owns 10,195 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $97.49 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $58.40 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.88. The company has a market cap of $783.17 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.