Facet Wealth Inc. Purchases New Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Facet Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,456 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Spreng Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the third quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton grew its position in Walmart by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 13,338 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Walmart by 3.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 843,885 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,963,000 after purchasing an additional 27,499 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 51.2% during the third quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,350,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $215,987,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on WMT shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Europe boosted their price target on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.97.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.83. 21,700,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,332,645. The stock has a market cap of $482.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.34 and a 12-month high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Walmart’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company 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.