Guardian Partners Inc. Buys New Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 147,631 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $13,553,000. Walmart accounts for 1.4% of Guardian Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $43,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $688.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.04. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.