Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. lessened its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,280 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 689 shares during the quarter. Walmart comprises about 1.8% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $5,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of Walmart by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank increased its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% in the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Walmart by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after buying an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Walmart during the third quarter valued at about $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.07.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total transaction of $1,661,792.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 in the last ninety days. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $785.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.10. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.18 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

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

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

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.