Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,010,582 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 197,029 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $91,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the third quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Walmart by 77.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 399 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.18 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued 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 1.00%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank raised Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

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.