Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Raises Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 0.7% of Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.77 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.