Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,265 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,183 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $8,669,000. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 512,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $46,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 107.8% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 61,018 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,513,000 after buying an additional 31,661 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth 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. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $406,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.07.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Walmart
In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on 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 owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company's stock.
NYSE WMT traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.68. 35,897,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,648,503. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.26. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 39.00%.
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.
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