Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 202.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,034 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 46,877 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Walmart were worth $4,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,852,277,000 after purchasing an additional 426,388 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $3,674,652,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Walmart by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,235,920 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,190,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,729 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of WMT traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.82. 14,207,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,769,110. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.99. The stock has a market cap of $482.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.34 and a twelve month high of $61.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 in the last three months. 46.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Walmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Stifel Europe increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Walmart to $66.67 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.75.

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.

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