Vertex Planning Partners LLC Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vertex Planning Partners LLC boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,883 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $85.62 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $686.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.20. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart 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.