Hilltop Partners LLC Purchases 2,722 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hilltop Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,093 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the period. Hilltop Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $96.88 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.77 and its 200 day moving average is $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.20 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.