Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 188,116 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,697 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Walmart were worth $16,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Walmart by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $87.57 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $96.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.53. The company has a market cap of $703.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.