BIP Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,475 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,281 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WMT opened at $98.73 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.39 and a twelve month 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 has a market capitalization of $789.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.97, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $90.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WMT. Roth Mkm reaffirmed 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.58.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.19, for a total transaction of $2,743,189.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,480,347 shares in the company, valued at $422,003,883.93. The trade was a 0.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents 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 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.