Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by LVZ Inc.

LVZ Inc. increased its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,828 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. LVZ Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Walmart by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WMT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.08 and a 200 day moving average of $88.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $761.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.56 and a 12 month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. As a group, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.