Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys 26,431 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,022,323 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,431 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 0.8% of Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $92,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of WMT opened at $97.49 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.40 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a market cap of $783.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.88.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid 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 0.96%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.