Welch & Forbes LLC Boosts Holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 167,007 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Walmart were worth $26,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Walmart by 15,371.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,511,225 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,530 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Walmart by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 4,491,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $718,271,000 after buying an additional 1,416,359 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Walmart by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,873,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,698,519,000 after buying an additional 1,317,729 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Walmart by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 137,214,807 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,944,764,000 after acquiring an additional 751,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Walmart by 161.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,157,620 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $182,499,000 after purchasing an additional 715,125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Walmart Stock Performance

WMT stock traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $59.87. The company had a trading volume of 11,117,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,516,809. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.34 and a 12-month high of $61.65. The stock has a market cap of $482.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.06.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $173.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.85 billion. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.08% and a net margin of 2.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. Walmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total transaction of $177,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 521,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,816,896.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.93, for a total value of $1,687,250.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,076,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,187,943.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John D. Rainey sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.08, for a total value of $177,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 521,613 shares in the company, valued at $30,816,896.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,019,140 shares of company stock worth $1,696,045,631. Company insiders own 46.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Walmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $62.00 to $63.33 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Walmart to $67.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Walmart to $66.67 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Walmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Walmart has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.