Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by New England Professional Planning Group Inc.

New England Professional Planning Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,459 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. 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 52 week low of $57.77 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.