Main Street Research LLC Purchases 3,172 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Main Street Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 26.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,046 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,172 shares during the quarter. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth about $2,306,627,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 479.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the third 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,079,000 after buying an additional 3,927,173 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 3.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Price Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WMT. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,485,124.40. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

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.