Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Stock Holdings Increased by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,055 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,683 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017,829 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth about $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,015,818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,796,129,000 after purchasing an additional 514,036 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $87.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $698.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.50.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,830 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.07, for a total transaction of $166,658.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,956,404.35. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares in the company, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,852 shares of company stock valued at $16,785,080 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.