Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Has $58.89 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 53.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 651,827 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 226,530 shares during the period. Walmart comprises 4.1% of Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $58,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $92.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.09. The company has a market capitalization of $753.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.56 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’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 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 have sold a total of 177,022 shares of company stock valued at $16,618,422 over the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WMT shares. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.58.

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.