Blankinship & Foster LLC Invests $288,000 in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,185 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200,004 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total value of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WMT shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $91.68 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.56 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 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.