Evoke Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Evoke Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,692 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,267 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.53 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $687.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.56 and a 200 day moving average of $88.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given 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 yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given 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 an average target price of $103.20.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.