Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Position Lowered by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,713,440 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,375,278 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.58% of Walmart worth $4,220,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares in the company, valued at $25,419,362.80. The trade was a 12.87 % 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, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 178,782 shares of company stock worth $16,785,305 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho initiated coverage on Walmart in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.58.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.91 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.51. The stock has a market cap of $760.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

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.