Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Takes $770,000 Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,520 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Finally, Iowa State Bank increased its stake in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. 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.