Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 99,537 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,000,387 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 99,537 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up approximately 0.5% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Walmart were worth $180,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Walmart by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,345,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,632,000 after acquiring an additional 18,644 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Walmart by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,235,504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $503,517,000 after purchasing an additional 809,352 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV purchased a new stake in Walmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $237,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Walmart by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 132,180 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 10,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Walmart by 15.4% during the third quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 4,292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Walmart Stock Performance

NYSE:WMT opened at $91.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $736.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.56 and a twelve month high of $105.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $178.83 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued 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 dividend yield of 1.03%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Walmart news, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of Walmart 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 566,794 shares in the company, valued at $52,485,124.40. The trade was a 2.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $2,689,601.40. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Walmart from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Walmart from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Walmart from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Walmart has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.