2,374 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by Piedmont Capital Management LLC

Piedmont Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,374 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $374,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,096,455 shares in the company, valued at $102,518,542.50. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,533 shares of company stock valued at $13,241,740. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $95.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $90.58 and a 200-day moving average of $90.83. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.58 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $761.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. 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 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.