Horizon Investment Services LLC Has $319,000 Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,536 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its position in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 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’s fifty day moving average price is $94.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.25. The firm has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.