Scalar Gauge Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Scalar Gauge Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 76.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Walmart comprises approximately 2.9% of Scalar Gauge Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Scalar Gauge Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 3,132 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory grew its position in Walmart by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 12,882 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 193,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,481,000 after purchasing an additional 9,517 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 52,829 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,773,000 after purchasing an additional 21,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $191,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $85.08 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.62 and its 200-day moving average is $89.40. The stock has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. The trade was a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.