BBR Partners LLC Acquires 11,533 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

BBR Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,931 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,533 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 0.5% of BBR Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. BBR Partners LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $7,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 12.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,098,203,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Walmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Walmart by 3.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,501,782 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,392,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Walmart by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,020,800 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,079,000 after purchasing an additional 3,927,173 shares during the last quarter. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $2,823,571.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,558,247 shares in the company, valued at $344,972,046.65. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.60, for a total value of $1,215,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,485,124.40. This represents a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,777 shares of company stock worth $17,657,316 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

Walmart stock opened at $94.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $759.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $96.19 and its 200 day moving average is $88.13. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Walmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.07.

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.