Coordinated Financial Services Inc. Invests $1.44 Million in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Coordinated Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,891 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,000. Walmart accounts for about 1.1% of Coordinated Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its position in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $91.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.35. The stock has a market cap of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.