Briaud Financial Planning Inc Boosts Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Briaud Financial Planning Inc raised its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,516 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 0.1% of Briaud Financial Planning Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Briaud Financial Planning Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Walmart by 479.6% during 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 grew its position in Walmart by 12.9% during 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 grew its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WMT. StockNews.com cut Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.57 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $96.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.