Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Increases Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 222,839 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,125 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Walmart were worth $20,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $95.62 and its 200 day moving average is $86.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.60 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.87.

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.