Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,856,878 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 122,966 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Walmart were worth $167,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.
Walmart Stock Up 0.6 %
Shares of WMT stock opened at $99.31 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.39 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $794.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.60.
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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 owns 3,558,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.37, for a total value of $214,214.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 632,718 shares in the company, valued at $61,607,751.66. This trade represents a 0.35 % 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 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Walmart from $93.00 to $91.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.58.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Walmart
About Walmart
(
Free Report)
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.
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