Twin Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,523 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 75,170 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the quarter. Walmart accounts for about 0.7% of Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $6,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Walmart by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock worth $16,785,080 in the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.17.

Walmart Price Performance

WMT stock opened at $83.09 on Monday. 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 $666.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $94.01 and its 200 day moving average is $89.67. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 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 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

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.