FMA Wealth Management LLC Makes New $182,000 Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

FMA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 2,073 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $182,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WMT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $96.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $767.41 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.55 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.14.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 2.75%. Walmart’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,760 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.82, for a total value of $166,883.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 520,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,332,475.50. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total transaction of $2,493,888.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,294 shares of company stock valued at $12,656,659 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.