Darden Wealth Group Inc Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Darden Wealth Group Inc raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,535 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 750 shares during the quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at $52,859,472.96. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $83.09 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $666.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $94.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.59.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.