Edge Capital Group LLC Sells 745 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Edge Capital Group LLC lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 296,398 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for approximately 1.4% of Edge Capital Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $26,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after acquiring an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after buying an additional 2,786,061 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,848,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,107,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,820,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $470,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on WMT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total value of $166,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This trade represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.44, for a total transaction of $2,663,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,814,805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,825,769.20. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 176,777 shares of company stock valued at $16,570,112 over the last three months. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:WMT opened at $94.70 on Monday. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.77 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.63 and a 200-day moving average of $86.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $180.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 34.44%.

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.