Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 111,524 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,076,000. Walmart makes up 6.3% of Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 buying an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,893,079,000 after acquiring an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $785.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.18 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.10.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In related news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,691,507.55. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted 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 dropped their target price on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.