Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Ascent Wealth Partners LLC

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,179 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Walmart makes up approximately 1.5% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $11,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in Walmart by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $57.77 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.