William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $40.11 Million Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,932 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,564 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $40,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in Walmart by 209.7% during the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after buying an additional 599,257 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Walmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE WMT opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.88.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

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