Navellier & Associates Inc. Acquires 2,799 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 69.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,826 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WMT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.43.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.70 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.77 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.63 and its 200 day moving average is $86.57.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 34.44%.

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.