Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 44,238 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,173,166 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 44,238 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $196,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 25,339,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,289,419,000 after acquiring an additional 6,860,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth 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, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Mizuho assumed coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.94.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $98.76. The stock had a trading volume of 11,299,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,801,440. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.62 and a 200 day moving average of $91.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $790.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.44 and a twelve month high of $105.30. 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 (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743. Company 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.