Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $3.87 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 42,806 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,445 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after buying an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $96.11 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.17. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The company has a market capitalization of $772.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm 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%. Equities analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

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.