Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is Stack Financial Management Inc’s 2nd Largest Position

Stack Financial Management Inc cut its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,083,760 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15,900 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for about 9.0% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in Walmart were worth $97,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wrapmanager Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 14,467 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 53,569 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,840,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millington Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Walmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other Walmart news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. The trade was a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 194,377 shares of company stock worth $18,231,904. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walmart Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $93.64 on Tuesday. Walmart Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.18 and a 1-year high of $105.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $752.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.00%.

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.