Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 251,678 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,859 shares during the period. Walmart makes up about 1.7% of Simmons Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $22,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,072,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in Walmart by 13.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 18,263 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the third 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 shares of Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WMT. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Walmart from $113.00 to $112.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

Walmart Stock Up 4.4 %

WMT opened at $97.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $785.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.18 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given 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 0.96%. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction 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 approximately $349,609,579.70. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.47, for a total transaction of $277,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 375,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,691,507.55. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,528 shares of company stock valued at $13,849,185 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Company 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.