Signaturefd LLC Increases Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $85.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.80.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.