Everstar Asset Management LLC Has $526,000 Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Everstar Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,820 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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, March 11th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.08 on Monday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.40. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.