Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Sells 2,705 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lessened its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,487 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,705 shares during the period. Walmart accounts for 1.2% of Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $14,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Walmart by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DZ Bank raised shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Walmart from $99.00 to $93.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Walmart in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “positive” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.17.

Walmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WMT opened at $85.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $687.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.56 and a 1 year high of $105.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.89.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. Sell-side analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors 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 yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.00%.

Insider Activity at Walmart

In related news, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 423,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.80, for a total value of $3,754,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 257,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,419,362.80. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,777 shares of company stock worth $18,001,116. 45.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.