14,976 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Purchased by Delta Financial Group Inc.

Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,976 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

Walmart stock opened at $94.70 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.57. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.77 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

About Walmart

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.