Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Purchased by Diversified Enterprises LLC

Diversified Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,444 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,943,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $175,572,000 after purchasing an additional 75,418 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 56,956 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,146,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Group Corp bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $288,000. Harbour Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WMT. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last three months. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $85.29 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. 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 company has a market capitalization of $685.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.74 and a 200-day moving average of $88.62.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.