Darwin Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 14,845 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,845 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 76,953 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,132,000 after purchasing an additional 7,608 shares during the period. Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $389,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,657,000 after purchasing an additional 7,330 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 73,082 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,730,000 after acquiring an additional 34,173 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,433,545 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $383,648,000 after acquiring an additional 54,685 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total value of $347,895,646.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 5,970,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.27, for a total transaction of $347,895,646.04. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 671,082,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,106,219,344.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,553,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,166,566. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $48.34 and a one year high of $61.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.94.

Walmart Company 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.