Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Invests $463,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,125 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $95.00 and its 200-day moving average is $89.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Company 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.