Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

by · The Markets Daily

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Free Report) by 92.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 355,931 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 170,725 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 0.6% of Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $32,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter worth about $541,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Walmart by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 9,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 22,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $504,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.17 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $91.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $746.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Walmart

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart 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 directly owns 520,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,332,475.50. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,852,396.42. This trade represents a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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