Waterway Wealth Management LLC Purchases 2,152 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Waterway Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,984 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 0.5% of Waterway Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Waterway Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the 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. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.77 and a 200 day moving average of $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.20 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 capitalization of $778.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.