Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Shares Bought by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 718,531 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,679 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Walmart were worth $64,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. LVZ Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 8,828 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Walmart by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 133,070 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,023,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 990 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Walmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Snider Financial Group grew its position in shares of Walmart by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Snider Financial Group now owns 61,681 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 460,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of WMT opened at $94.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $761.04 billion, a PE ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $58.56 and a one year high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.03.

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

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Walmart from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Walmart from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $97.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Walmart currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

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.