Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,816 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.1% of Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its position in Walmart by 1.6% during the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 3,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE WMT traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $48.34 and a fifty-two week high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total transaction of $638,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 104,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WMT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

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.