Garde Capital Inc. Acquires 3,302 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Garde Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 158.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,382 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.'s holdings in Walmart were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $5,737,355,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 37.1% in 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 grew 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 valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Walmart by 8.9% during the 4th 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. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.94.

Walmart Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WMT traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,889,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,799,691. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.17. 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 firm has a market cap of $781.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.16 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm had revenue of $165.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,148 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.58, for a total transaction of $2,815,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,451,199 shares of the company's stock, valued at $429,896,799.42. This trade represents a 0.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 2,200 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total transaction of $195,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 398,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,288,807.84. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 135,334 shares of company stock valued at $12,615,864 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.