Truepoint Inc. Makes New $271,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Truepoint Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,004 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Walmart by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $85.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.89. The company has a market cap of $687.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.