Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) by 60.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,103 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 108,142 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $10,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 1,519.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,129,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,054,376,000 after buying an additional 7,627,286 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 2.9% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 96,570,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,525,224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712,886 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Walmart by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 130,176,496 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,883,890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832,388 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Walmart by 7.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,919,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,908,117,000 after buying an additional 1,685,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Walmart by 34.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,258,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $783,056,000 after buying an additional 1,340,328 shares in the last quarter. 31.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $159.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Walmart from $161.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. UBS Group set a $168.00 price target on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Walmart from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.44.

Walmart Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $139.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $375.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.48. Walmart Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.27 and a 1 year high of $160.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.04.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $164.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.67 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Walmart Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is 52.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,550,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.21, for a total value of $214,271,385.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 257,930,893 shares in the company, valued at $35,648,628,721.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Jim C. Walton sold 852,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.26, for a total value of $122,940,535.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 266,841,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,494,543,249.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director S Robson Walton sold 1,550,332 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.21, for a total value of $214,271,385.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 257,930,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,648,628,721.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,830,325 shares of company stock worth $1,378,798,478 over the last ninety days. 47.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Walmart Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Walmart, Inc engages in retail and wholesale business. The company offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices. It operates through the following business segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. The Walmart U.S. segment operates as a merchandiser of consumer products, operating under the Walmart, Wal-Mart, and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands, as well as walmart.com and other eCommerce brands.