Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,870 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 12,738 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,417,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 2,879 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $344,972,046.65. This represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 188,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,934,726. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.07.

Walmart Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $98.65 on Friday. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.20 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $792.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.94, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.90 and a 200-day moving average of $87.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly 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. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 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.