Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,277 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 4.4% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,236,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,522,369,000 after acquiring an additional 350,881 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.81 per share, with a total value of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,577.05. This trade represents a 230.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. DZ Bank cut Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

Walmart Trading Down 6.5 %

WMT stock opened at $97.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.60 and a 52-week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.06%.

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.