LGL Partners LLC Makes New $252,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

LGL Partners LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,784 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its stake in Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $785.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.18 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its 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 company 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares in the company, valued at $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.