Gray Wealth Management Inc. Increases Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Gray Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,682 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,382 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 1.2% of Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $137,000. First National Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 72,790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,577,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,658,000. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 844,600 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $76,310,000 after buying an additional 8,687 shares during the period. Finally, Facet Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WMT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.20.

Walmart Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $685.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.