Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Acquires Shares of 2,469 Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp bought a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,469 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 3.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $98.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.90 and its 200-day moving average is $87.44. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.20 and a one year high of $105.30. 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 issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This represents a 2.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total value of $277,410.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,777 shares of company stock worth $17,934,726. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.