Graney & King LLC Purchases New Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,319 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $119,000.

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

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $678.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.00 and a 200-day moving average of $89.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. Corporate 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.