Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Mattern Capital Management LLC

Mattern Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,366 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,240 shares during the period. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of Mattern Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $13,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Iowa State Bank lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Walmart during the third quarter worth about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 5,446 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.81 per share, for a total transaction of $499,997.26. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,577.05. This represents a 230.86 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock worth $16,570,112. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $97.22 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.60 and a 12 month high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $781.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.25.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 21.78%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.235 dividend. This is a positive change from Walmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.87.

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.