Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 92.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,884 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 36,475 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $6,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Walmart by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 271,515 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $24,532,000 after purchasing an additional 19,233 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 209.7% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,355,000 after acquiring an additional 9,292 shares during the period. Finally, Iowa State Bank boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Walmart from $107.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.58.

Walmart Trading Down 0.9 %

WMT stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,311,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,802,963. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.58 and a 12 month high of $105.30. 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's 50 day moving average price is $90.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.76. The company has a market cap of $761.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other news, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,533 shares of company stock valued at $13,241,740. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Walmart Company 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.