Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Acquired by Longbow Finance SA

Longbow Finance SA grew its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 83.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 238,410 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,588 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 2.4% of Longbow Finance SA’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $21,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after buying an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Walmart by 14.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total value of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 194,377 shares of company stock valued at $18,231,904 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $752.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.18 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.