Elios Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Elios Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,407 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. Elios Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in 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. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WMT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT stock opened at $90.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.80. 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 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $728.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.70, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Walmart Profile

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.