Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Geneva Capital Management LLC

Geneva Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,262 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 667 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $2,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,087,268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,852,277,000 after acquiring an additional 426,388 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,698,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,729 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,765,278 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,361,411,000 after buying an additional 562,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,011,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,081,120,000 after buying an additional 78,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 5,816,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 $39,237,458,141.48. 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 that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total transaction of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,696,045,631 over the last three months. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

Shares of WMT traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,553,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,166,566. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.34 and a 52 week high of $61.65. 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 company has a market capitalization of $487.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.15.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 43.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WMT. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Europe increased their target price on Walmart from $56.33 to $58.33 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.94.

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.