US Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,456 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Walmart by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 347,232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $55,736,000 after purchasing an additional 98,712 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 11,418 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Walmart by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 44,960 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,190,000 after buying an additional 3,914 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 11.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 22.5% during the third quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,729,056,822.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $337,066,728.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 677,052,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,237,458,141.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 345,000 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.93, for a total value of $21,020,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 652,044,261 shares in the company, valued at $39,729,056,822.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Europe upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.94.

Walmart Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,232,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,218,043. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $486.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.34 and a 1 year high of $61.65.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. Walmart had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 21.08%. The company had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

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.