Verus Capital Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,784 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank raised its stake in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.20 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.