Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Buys 790 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,123 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 0.7% of Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $96.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $778.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.77 and a 200 day moving average of $87.23. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.20 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.