Little House Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Little House Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,203 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 1.9% of Little House Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Seven Mile Advisory grew its holdings 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 position in shares of Walmart by 3.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 5,806 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $485.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.34 and a 12 month high of $61.65. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.86.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Walmart news, SVP David Chojnowski sold 10,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.33, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.72, for a total value of $167,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 530,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,565,756.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,035,551 over the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.