Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 950,119 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,610 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $149,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Walmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Walmart during the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $59.65. 8,766,809 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,548,449. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.92.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 43.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Walmart from $67.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 677,052,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total transaction of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,016,140 shares of company stock worth $1,695,868,391 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

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.