Providence Capital Advisors LLC Has $267,000 Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 141.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,954 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also 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 worth approximately $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Walmart by 209.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, Iowa State Bank lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $85.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $686.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

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.