Hobbs Group Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,286 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 50 day moving average of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average of $89.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.