Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 48,839 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 729.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,537 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,839 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $503,517,000 after buying an additional 809,352 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 118,663 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,582,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 387,540 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,294,000 after buying an additional 4,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WMT opened at $85.94 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.95. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $688.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $107.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116 over the last three months. Company insiders own 45.58% 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.