StoneX Group Inc. Buys 29,112 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

StoneX Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 66.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,012 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,112 shares during the quarter. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $41,956,404.35. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 176,652 shares of company stock worth $16,590,028. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.94 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $704.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.54 and its 200-day moving average is $89.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 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.