Aprio Wealth Management LLC Invests $261,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,842 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMI Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,269 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 36.8% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 4,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 31.7% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,162 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 123.9% in the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 10,566 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 5,847 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 857,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $127,749,000 after buying an additional 13,985 shares during the period. 31.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT opened at $139.40 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $142.27 and a 200 day moving average of $141.10. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.27 and a 52-week high of $160.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $375.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.48.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.20. Walmart had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $164.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Walmart’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 7th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 53.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Walmart in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Walmart from $161.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $159.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $168.00 target price on Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.44.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total transaction of $122,940,535.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 266,841,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,494,543,249.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,550,332 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.21, for a total transaction of $214,271,385.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 257,930,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,648,628,721.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total value of $122,940,535.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 266,841,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,830,325 shares of company stock worth $1,378,798,478 in the last quarter. 47.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Walmart

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Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.