Linscomb Wealth Inc. Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,527 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,535,178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $138,703,000 after acquiring an additional 44,274 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Brueske Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $257,000. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Oak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 707,083 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $63,885,000 after purchasing an additional 388,295 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,790.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,600,315 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $144,588,000 after buying an additional 1,515,657 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.44. 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 capitalization of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.20 and a one 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726 in the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Company 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.