Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $194.79 Million Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,155,987 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 114,566 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Walmart were worth $194,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Walmart during the third quarter worth about $2,072,000. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Walmart by 209.7% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 885,008 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $79,960,000 after purchasing an additional 599,257 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its stake in Walmart by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 47,949 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,786 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,150 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,355,000 after buying an additional 9,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 26,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 18,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.62, for a total transaction of $2,697,464.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,766,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,852,396.42. The trade was a 0.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.96, for a total value of $1,220,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 568,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,859,472.96. This trade represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 147,528 shares of company stock worth $14,096,140. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. DZ Bank upgraded Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

WMT opened at $85.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $682.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $94.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.25. 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 1-year low of $58.56 and a 1-year high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.