Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by GLOBALT Investments LLC GA

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA trimmed its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,305 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,094 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total value of $166,658.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $85.29 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

About Walmart

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.