Moment Partners LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Moment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,401 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $849,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,194,278,000 after buying an additional 2,050,683 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 3.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,201 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Walmart by 14.0% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total value of $2,697,464.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,766,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. This represents a 0.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total value of $343,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 888,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $85.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $682.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $105.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.22.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its earnings results 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. The company 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 anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Walmart 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.