Commerce Bank Reduces Stock Position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,104 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,151 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $49,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WMT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter worth $3,674,652,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Walmart by 15,371.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,545,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,530 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Walmart by 46.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,491,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $718,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,359 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Walmart by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Walmart by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,944,764,000 after purchasing an additional 751,713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WMT. Bank of America raised their price target on Walmart from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Walmart from $54.33 to $58.67 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Walmart from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Walmart from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.01.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,132,597,369.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director S Robson Walton sold 3,540,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total value of $228,523,137.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 648,504,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,860,933,910.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Alice L. Walton sold 500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.39, for a total value of $29,195,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 653,067,261 shares in the company, valued at $38,132,597,369.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,733,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,237,280,394 in the last ninety days. 46.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WMT stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.71. 10,180,244 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,701,725. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.34 and a 1 year high of $65.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $521.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.49.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.08. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.57% and a net margin of 2.88%. The firm had revenue of $161.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.52%.

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.