Promus Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 4,350 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,350 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $96.00 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $771.16 billion, a PE ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.09.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % 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 dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.