Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 167,788 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 24,679 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up 3.0% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $15,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after purchasing an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank increased its position 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 buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. The trade was a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.03. The company has a market capitalization of $761.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.