Clare Market Investments LLC Buys New Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,344 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $91.68 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.44.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently 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.