Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 36.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,299 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,298 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $4,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Walmart in the third quarter valued at $541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.18 and a 1-year high of $105.30. 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 (NYSE:WMT) last released 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. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904 over the last quarter. 45.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WMT. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.43.

About Walmart

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.