Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 35.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,850 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $79,960,000 after acquiring an additional 599,257 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $84.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $678.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.25. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current 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 issued 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 yield of 1.11%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Company 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.