Birinyi Associates Inc. Sells 630 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Birinyi Associates Inc. lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,215 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 630 shares during the period. Walmart makes up 2.1% of Birinyi Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Birinyi Associates Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 146,528 shares of company stock worth $13,849,185. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of WMT stock opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.18 and a 12 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $95.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.10. The company has a market cap of $785.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

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.