Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,844 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Walmart by 78.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 306,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,652,000 after buying an additional 134,149 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Walmart by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 68,881 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,223,000 after buying an additional 22,807 shares in the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $552,000. Everstar Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 5,820 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,049,715 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $94,842,000 after purchasing an additional 118,803 shares in the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Walmart Stock Down 0.6 %

Walmart stock opened at $85.08 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $94.62 and a 200 day moving average of $89.40. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total transaction of $1,220,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 568,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock valued at $14,096,140 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.