Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 3,185 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,757 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,185 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.8% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $23,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA lifted its position in Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $96.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $771.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $96.15 and its 200 day moving average is $88.09. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve 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.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid 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 0.98%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.