Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Acquires 343 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,462 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 1.0% of Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in Walmart by 26.6% during the third quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 252,600 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,398,000 after acquiring an additional 53,000 shares in the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Walmart by 28.0% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 767,013 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $122,668,000 after buying an additional 167,800 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,480,971 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $235,608,000 after buying an additional 21,899 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 32.5% during the third quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,117,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $338,602,000 after buying an additional 518,896 shares during the period. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 48,468 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,751,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $337,066,728.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.78, for a total transaction of $117,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 656,395,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,582,913,441.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,035,551 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WMT shares. StockNews.com raised Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

Walmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.34 and a 52-week high of $61.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $485.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.86.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 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 last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $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 1.38%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

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.