Accredited Wealth Management LLC Makes New $104,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after buying an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 169,657 shares of company stock valued at $15,984,929 in the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WMT shares. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Erste Group Bank cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $90.52 and its 200-day moving average is $91.33. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.14 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 stock has a market cap of $789.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.