Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Purchases 123 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,623 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.60 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $781.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.62 and its 200 day moving average is $86.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares in the company, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112 over the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. DZ Bank lowered Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $91.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.87.

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.