Plancorp LLC Sells 136 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Plancorp LLC trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,686 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,289,419,000 after purchasing an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 189,777 shares of company stock valued at $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.95. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Walmart’s 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.