Brown Advisory Inc. Has $35.88 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 397,108 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,514 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $35,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Walmart by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,173,166 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $196,346,000 after purchasing an additional 44,238 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in Walmart by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 25,719 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth $145,647,000. Banque de Luxembourg S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at $245,000. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,417,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.94.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,301,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,814,602. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.70. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.44 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm has a market cap of $790.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743 in the last 90 days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.