L.K. Benson & Company P.C. Makes New $1.11 Million Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

L.K. Benson & Company P.C. acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 12,225 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000. Walmart makes up approximately 0.8% of L.K. Benson & Company P.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank increased its holdings in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.93. The company has a market cap of $687.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.