Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Proffitt & Goodson Inc.

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,508 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 worth $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total transaction of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WMT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.20 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.